


An Unexpected Homecoming

by Chrononautical



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:00:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 65
Words: 130,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrononautical/pseuds/Chrononautical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Reaper dies and those who were sealed alive are released.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A self indulgent fix it piece because I want to make Naruto and Kakashi happy after everything they've been through, and anyone paying attention knows they've both been through a lot. 
> 
> This work is set at the end of the first series of the anime, before Naruto leaves with Jiraiya for his advanced training. In other words, pre-Shippuden.

The first thing Minato was aware of was the ever-present cold ending. The pain was still intense, but the icy horror was gone and the world was no longer completely black. His eyes took a minute to adjust to the dim light. Naturally, the next thing he noticed was his enemy. Shining red with vile chakra the Demon Fox illuminated the dank cave and the bizarre golem that seemed to be embracing the platform on which they both stood. 

“What!” Minato’s other enemy shouted, falling over in exaggerated shock. His mask was slightly different and his demeanor changed completely, but Minato recognized the feel of his murderous intent. He was the enemy who had attacked and forcibly removed the Nine Tails from Minato’s wife while she gave birth to their first child. He was the one who had turned what should have been the happiest day of Minato’s life into the end of it. “Hey boss,” the Uchiha continued, “I thought you said killing this guy would only release the Tailed Beast Chakra sealed inside. Looks like we got a bargain with a couple of enemy shinobi thrown in free!” 

“It seems my information on the Reaper Death Seal was incomplete,” said a harsh voice. The speaker was a dark shadow perched on one of the golem’s fingers. Minato could see seven other such shadows, but he could make out no details beyond that. Somehow, these enemies of the Hidden Leaf had killed an immortal death god and their clear goal was the chakra of the Nine Tails. With the still bleeding wound in his stomach, Minato didn’t think he could face even the masked Uchiha, but that didn’t mean he could not win.

Sprinting with everything he had, Minato scooped up the coughing, sword pierced body identified as another shinobi enemy of this hidden group and shoved his left hand against the fire of the Nine Tails. In an instant, all three were transported to the clearing outside the Hidden Leaf Village. That location was, after all, the best place to fight a monster. 

It was too far. Of course it was too far. Transporting without knowing one’s location and a destination marker was an ill considered, reactionary move little better than panicked fleeing. Minato deserved to collapse, completely drained of his chakra, directly in the path of this echo of the Demon Fox that he had created. It was screaming its hatred; soon it would take its revenge. Minato deserved that, but the half dead shinobi with a sword through his body deserved better. Leaf Village deserved better than to have a powerful enemy reappear without warning in the bright sunshine of a cloudless day. For the sake of his village, to revenge his lost wife, and most of all for the baby boy somewhere in that village with half of this monster already locked inside of him, Minato needed to do something. Anything. But he had nothing left to act with. 

As he slipped away into darkness, the wrecked face of the shinobi in his arms came into focus. It was the Third Hokage. Minato prayed that that, at least, was a delusion. After an attack of this magnitude, the village would need someone with experience at the helm. He had been hoping that Lord Sarutobi would come out of retirement. 

The darkness was full of pain, of ice so cold it burned, and there were enemies menacing claws and swords and teeth within it. But that was nothing new. 

When he opened his eyes again the pain was completely gone. Early afternoon sunlight was glaring through the hospital window onto Minato’s face. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his head. 

“How are you feeling?” asked Tsunade-sensei. 

“Confused,” he answered honestly. When the Lord Third Hokage had approached Tsunade-sensei to ask her to become the Fourth she’d sworn that she would never return to the Hidden Leaf, yet Minato was certain that this was the village hospital. 

“Do remember anything?” she asked gently. 

“Of course, sensei. I should probably make a full report to Lord Sarutobi at once. Or has a Fifth Hokage stepped in to take my place? Physically,” Minato paused, pressing a hand to his stomach through the white sheets, “I seem to be completely healed. Thank you for that, Tsunade-sensei.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve been unconscious for several days; I wasn’t sure you would wake up at all or be yourself if you did. Perhaps you don’t recall, but the Third was found with you and a great deal of Nine Tails Chakra.”

“Oh. Yes, I remember now. Is he?”

“His injuries were too severe.”

“It doesn’t make sense—that would mean he was within the Reaper as well.”

“Some time after you sealed yourself Orochimaru betrayed and attacked the village. Sarutobi-sensei used the Reaper Death Seal to trap resurrections of the first two Hokage and part of Orochimaru’s chakra. So yes, he was sealed away with you. What happened after that? How did the two of you come to be free?”

“I really should report this directly to the new Hokage, if there is one, ma’am. We have a powerful enemy and there may not be much time, especially if Lord Orochimaru has turned against us as well.”

“You’re looking at her, boy-o,” Jiraiya-sensei said, easing the door closed behind him. 

“Ah. My apologies Lady—Fifth?”

“It’s fine. Go on.”

“The Reaper was apparently killed by the same people who attacked Kushina while she was giving birth and attempted to destroy the village using the Demon Fox.” Minato explained, with as much detail as he could, the events of his sealing and resurrection. Lady Tsunade had a number of thoughts about the nature of the stasis experienced in the belly of the Reaper. She also agreed with Minato’s speculation that the resurrected Hokage would have been immediately released to the afterlife when freed from the seal. Meanwhile, Jiraiya-sensei’s theories about the organization responsible for the attack on Leaf Village and subsequently Minato’s current freedom were very helpful. It was excellent to be able to confer with the two great shinobi; he had wished so often for their counsel during his few short years as Hokage. 

Minato was just delineating the manner in which he knew that the masked man was the same person even though flames had given way to swirls, short hair had replaced long, and a veneer of comedy was scraped over the surface of it all when they were interrupted. A blonde genin wearing a fairly ridiculous orange jumpsuit slammed the door open and pointed an accusatory finger at Jiraiya-sensei. 

“Pervy Sage, you liar! There’s no secret toad scroll for tracking lost friends hidden in any waterfall! Gamakichi told me that you asked him to keep me busy. I’m not stupid, you know!”

“Oi, Naruto. Calm down. You and I need to have a talk before you come in here.”

“Naruto?” asked Minato, feeling as though the floor had turned to ice and was sliding out from under him. 

“Uzumaki Naruto!” The boy cried, leaping up onto one of the hospital chairs. “Don’t recognize the name, Lord Fourth Dummy? Or didn’t you bother to find out whose life you were ruining? I’m the kid you stuffed the stupid fox demon into. Let me tell you, you owe me big time, buster!” 

“Some time has passed,” said Tsunade in a strained voice. It seemed impossible. After all, Lady Tsunade hadn’t aged a day; she still looked exactly as she had the day Jiraiya-sensei had introduced their genin team to her. Of course, now that he looked more closely at Jiraiya-sensei the former Hokage could see how the older man had aged. Those slow torturous years locked within the Death God had been real, not an illusion. 

“Well, it did feel like an eternity,” Minato said, smiling as best he could. 

“Quit pretending to be a nice guy,” Naruto demanded. “You’re the Fourth Hokage jerk who made everyone hate me for my whole life even though it wasn’t my fault! You’re going to teach me some jutsu to make up for it. Really good jutsu—Hokage level stuff—and then maybe I’ll forgive you!” 

“Naruto!” Jiraiya pulled the boy away by his arm and Minato realized faintly that the child had pounced onto the bed and was staring into his eyes from mere inches away. “Show a little respect.”

“That’s not, I mean, I could teach you something, if you want,” Minato heard himself say. “Though you should perhaps address Jiraiya-sensei more respectfully.” 

“He’s a pervert!” Naruto squirmed out of the older man’s grip, then looked up at him in a belligerent apology. “Though I guess he’s a pretty good teacher. He showed me how to do your Rasengan, which is super easy.”

Minato felt a proud smile take over his face—the one Kushina always said made him look like a big girly dope. “You can use the Rasengan? And you’re only how old?”

“Thirteen, but I’ve been able to use it for ages. And I learned it really quickly. I’m a pretty spectacular ninja, so you’re going to teach me all of your jutsu and then I can become a better Hokage than you and everyone in the village will have to pay attention to me.” 

“Right, well, it’s good that you learn quickly.” Minato felt as lost as he had when talking to Kushina during their Academy days. 

“Listen, kid, you’ll get your time with the Fourth, but we need to have a talk, Master and Student, out in the hall first.”

“Um, Jiraiya-sensei, Lady Hokage, it worries me that my return may be disruptive to village workings at a time when this new enemy—Akatsuki, you called them—is clearly readying to move against us. Since you did not make known my return when you suspected I might die, perhaps it would be for the best if we continued to avoid a dramatic revelation, but rather people were allowed to become gradually accustomed to it.” 

“Are you sure, son?” Jiraiya-sensei looked very uncomfortable, one hand still firmly planted on Naruto’s shoulder. “I mean, that might be easier for the villagers, but it could be pretty rough on you.” 

“I’m sure,” said Minato firmly. He pushed the white sheets back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Clearly, Naruto didn’t know very much about him. That was understandable—every detail about the previous jinchuriki had been completely classified until Minato married her and could ask questions to his heart’s content. If the boy didn’t know that Minato was his father, then it made sense that he would resent the Hokage who made him responsible for an S-class mission as an infant. Thus it was probably better to work for Naruto’s respect—and possibly affection—before burdening the child with unknown familial obligations. 

“Just a minute! You’re still a patient in this hospital, you know. Your surgery took seven hours, you ungrateful brat. Where do you think you’re going without my permission?”

“Ah, my apologies, Lady Hokage. Perhaps if I promised not to do anything strenuous myself, but merely spent an hour or so gauging my new pupil’s ability level that we might work together to determine the area of study he wishes to pursue?”

“No.”

“Forgive me again,” Minato said, the pretense of politeness falling away, “but I believe you will find it more difficult to keep me here than you remember from our last encounter.”

“I can keep you here as long as I keep you unconscious, is that how it is?”

“Best of luck.” 

“Hey! Are you actually threatening Old Lady Tsunade? Do you have a death wish or something? You can’t be in that much of a hurry just to teach me something.” 

Abruptly, the tension in the room eased. Lady Tsunade’s arms were still crossed over her expansive chest, but the vein in her forehead was no longer throbbing and she glanced tenderly at Naruto. Jiraiya-sensei released whatever his hand had been clenching and let it fall back into his weapons pouch. Vaguely, Minato wondered whose side the old sage would have taken. 

“You’re still wearing a hospital gown,” the Hokage pointed out. 

“Ah, yes.” Apparently, thirteen years had passed since his house had been destroyed. He probably no longer had a spare set of clothes waiting for him in the Hokage’s offices, either. Thirteen years of torture, a son who didn’t recognize him, and he probably had no money or worldly possessions left either: it was fairly depressing. Then again, compared to the fiery agony that he’d been experiencing every moment for those lost thirteen years, mundane concerns were kind of nice. 

Lady Tsunade sighed and turned to Naruto. “The Fourth Hokage will meet you in the Eastern Training Field in two hours. He needs to eat and change his clothes before he does anything.”

“Fine,” Naruto agreed, “but you’d better show up, Lord Fourth Jerk, or I’ll track you down and make you teach me.” 

“I’ll be there, Naruto,” promised Minato, smiling at his son. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Naruto seemed to respond to the smile, looking away so that no one would see the way his eyes softened. Hopefully, the boy could sense some part of the connection between them, but Minato wouldn’t depend on it. 

“Don’t be late,” yelled the boy, opening the window and jumping out of it.

Jiraiya-sensei and the Hokage both awkwardly attempted to discuss Naruto’s behavior while Minato forced down some flavorless porridge, but honestly he understood. It was a natural decision to keep the identity and background of a jinchuriki a secret. The boy was loud and attention seeking, just like his mother had been, and he seemed well looked after by Minato’s old teacher. Frankly, the man was just in a hurry to meet Naruto and get to know the child in his own right. So much time had passed. Time that their family would never get back. 

The legendary ninja gave up on continuing their conversation and Minato was allowed to shower. Shizune—no longer a gawky little genin tripping after Lady Tsunade’s heels—brought him a spare set of clean clothes, a weapons pouch with a standard set of blades, and a comforting briefing about his financial affairs. Apparently, the Third Hokage had held his assets in trust for Naruto’s twentieth birthday. That bank account reverted to Minato, who wouldn’t have to worry about financial issues for a while—he would have plenty of time to spend with Naruto.


	2. Chapter 2

Finding the Eastern Training Field was comforting. Individual people may have grown or gone while Minato was away, but Hidden Leaf Village was pretty much unchanged. The streets were all where they had been with only slightly altered buildings lining them, and though the cheerful smiles no longer recognized him, Minato was greeted all the same. This was home, and if Minato had to return to that hell inside of the Reaper to protect it then he could do so with a light heart knowing that he had once succeeded. 

When Minato came to the end of the tree line, Naruto was already waiting in the field, diligently practicing high kicks on a wooden post. He was muttering to himself while he worked, and Minato took a moment to be grateful that he couldn’t really make out the slurs beyond a few references to “that Fourth Hokage.”

“You’re very dedicated.” 

“You’re early!” He was such an emotional child—so like his mother—looking up at Minato with a bright, surprised expression, as though no one had ever been eager to train with him before. Well, if most of his training had been with Jiraiya-sensei then maybe no one had. The sage was, to put it kindly, distractible. 

“I’m looking forward to working with you,” Minato tried to keep his smile gentle so as not to become overly emotional himself. 

“Well of course you are,” blustered the boy, “I’m pretty great.” 

“Right.” Minato had already decided that Naruto most needed to learn the Uzumaki secrets to controlling a jinchuriki—at least all of the ones that Minato knew. However, it would still be helpful to assess the boy’s level. “Before we begin lessons, we need to take a look at your fighting style to see what you already know.”

“Sounds good! I’m a really strong fighter; fighting is what I do best!” To hear Kushina Uzumaki’s son say as much was no surprise, but Minato wondered if there was any part of himself in his son—anything beyond the messy blonde hair, that was. As a child—and even as a genin—Minato had had a great deal of difficulty attacking comrades and other Leaf shinobi with serious intent. That didn’t seem to be a problem that Naruto would have. 

“Forgive me, Naruto—“ 

“No! I told you, I’m not going to forgive you until you teach me all of the jutsu you know, dummy!”

Minato couldn’t help staring at the boy for a moment. Even Kushina had never been quite this bad. He shook himself.

“As I was saying, normally the two of us would simply spar together and I could gauge your level of skill that way, but you will have to forgive me because I promised Lady Tsunade that I would not do anything as physically stressful as that.” Also, Minato really didn’t want to strike his son, even on a training field. 

“Oh. Fine. That’s fine.” 

“So, would you mind showing me your go-to jutsu? The jutsu you use first in a fight, I mean.” 

“Of course!” Naruto grinned and did a showy clone seal. “Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!” 

Immediately, the field filled with over thirty shadow clones. In anyone else, Minato would never believe that this was a go-to technique, but Naruto was an Uzumaki. A massive amount of natural chakra was the inherent trait of that clan, and Minato’s own chakra was not inconsiderable. Thus it was possible that Naruto had developed a style that depended on this natural advantage. 

“And if simply hitting your opponent with shadow clones doesn’t work, what do you do next?”

“I use my Rasengan!” Naruto released all of the shadow clones but one, who then proceeded to help form a Rasengan by manipulating chakra over the boy’s open hand. 

“You use the clone for chakra control and focusing?” It was a clever trick, and it explained how a boy so young could master a jutsu that required a level of control that most jonin never achieved. 

“I like to do things in my own way!” 

“Slow down, I didn’t say there was anything wrong with that.” 

“Stop pretending to be nice, you bastard!” Naruto released his clone and charged, threatening Minato with the Rasengan. Clearly, they would need to work on his taijutsu and misdirection, because the move was broadly telegraphed. Since the boy seemed to be attacking in a rage, it was understandable, but it was still far too easy to catch his arm and toss him Rasengan first through a practice post. 

“My apologies again, Naruto. Apparently, I didn’t properly explain that we would not be sparring, and that you ought not attack me once you formed the jutsu.” 

“Fine,” Naruto grunted, pushing himself to his feet.

“Now, what other techniques do you use?”

“You want to see what else I can do?” Naruto formed the ram seal. “Sexy Jutsu!”

In place of his son, Minato saw a naked blonde woman swaddled in mist. It was an extremely inappropriate transformation. 

“Did Jiraiya teach you that?” he asked, an unfamiliar feeling of rage igniting in his chest.

“This is my own technique! It’s how I got that Pervy Sage to take me on as a student! And there’s no use pretending to be a tough customer, old man: Harem Jutsu!”

At once, clones of the naked woman littered the practice field. They began addressing Minato as Lord Hokage, blowing kisses, and embracing one another. Minato took a deep breath. If this jutsu was Naruto’s own invention then it was the product of pubescent exploration, which was perfectly natural. He took another deep breath and tried not to imagine the circumstances in which Naruto used this jutsu to convince Jiraiya-sensei of anything. He failed. 

Before Minato was really aware of his own actions he’d thrown every shuriken and kunai he had, destroying all of the clones on the field. He did not, of course, strike the real Naruto who was blinking at him in feminine confusion. 

“Please reverse that transformation,” Minato demanded firmly. 

Naruto blinked again before reverting to his own fully clothed form. He looked very confused.

“It really didn’t work on you. At all.”

“Naruto, while the female form is an effective distraction for a male opponent, you must understand that it is inappropriate for you to use such a technique.”

“Yeah, I mean, girls get mad about it.”

Minato paused for a moment, wondering how to explain objectification and the inherent danger of being viewed in a sexualized manner by older men to a thirteen year old who, despite his claims, did not seem to be a particularly cerebral creature. 

“Do you like the way men look at you when you do that jutsu?”

The boy snickered. “Most guys pass out from the Harem Jutsu. I can win a fight without throwing a punch, you know!”

“Yes, but how does it make you feel when they don’t just pass out?”

“I dunno. I mean, they’re perverts. Sometimes I get bored when Pervy Sage wants me to do it before we train together.”

Minato had many good reasons not to kill Jiraiya-sensei. He was certain that he would remember them soon. 

“Naruto, if you are going to be my student, I would like you to promise not to use that technique.” Another deep breath. “I suppose it’s fine if you want to do it when you’re playing with your friends, but not with older shinobi and definitely not around Jiraiya-sensei.”

“You’re serious.”

“Yes. I don’t like it.”

“You can’t tell me what to do!”

“I can if you want me to be your teacher. This isn’t an unreasonable request.” 

“You’re probably just a different kind of pervert,” Naruto sneered. “New Fourth Hokage Pervert Jutsu!” 

Naruto’s new transformation was a harem of naked men, similar to Naruto himself but older and more muscular. Having thrown all of his blades at the first batch, Minato had no choice except to flip around the field at full speed striking each clone perfectly until only the transformed original remained. 

“Promise me,” he repeated. 

Minato’s son released the jutsu and looked up at his father with wide, confused eyes. “Okay. I promise,” he said reluctantly. 

Sighing in relief, Minato gathered up his thrown shuriken. “Now then,” he said, “what other jutsu do you like to use.” 

At least Naruto attempted to be respectful after that. As they ran through his substitution and summoning techniques, he limited himself to muttered insults like “dummy” and “jerk” while refraining from attacking Minato again. Unfortunately, the bragging about his own abilities only increased. 

“If I wanted to, though, I could summon a much bigger frog than this one.” 

“He means my dad,” Gamakichi croaked. “Dad does say Naruto is a pretty good henchman. This one time, they fought a really big monster that had been bullying me.” 

“Is that my old friend Gamabunta?”

“You know my dad?”

“Indeed. Please give him my regards when you return to Toad Mountain and tell him I’ll summon him sometime soon so that we can have a long talk and catch up.” 

“Sure thing. Naruto didn’t actually bother introducing us, what’s your name mister?” 

“You can go now Gamakichi,” growled Naruto. 

“Hey, we’re just talking here.”

“Get lost!”

The little toad snorted and stuck his nose in the air, vanishing in a puff of smoke. 

“You might consider being a little more polite to your summons,” Minato suggested. “They are contracted to obey you, but they don’t have to make things easy.” 

“I don’t care if you can summon the Boss Toad whenever you want just to have a talk, you aren’t better than me, you know!”

“I never said I was, but you did ask me to be your teacher.”

“And you agreed to that way too easily! Why won’t you just tell me right now what the catch is?”

Minato was confused, but showing it wouldn’t help. He eased himself down onto the grass and looked up at the clouds drifting in the direction of the slowly sinking sun. “It’s natural for older shinobi to instruct the younger members of their village. Why shouldn’t I help you get stronger?”

“Because I’m me! No one ever just accepts me; I always have to work for it!” 

“You said something like that earlier—that you had to convince Jiraiya-sensei to teach you—would you mind telling me how you did that?”

“I did tell you. I used the Sexy Jutsu! It works like a charm on that old pervert!” 

“Yes, but what were the circumstances? I was assuming that you lived with him, but if you used that jutsu then you must have been older when the two of you met.”

“Lived with the Pervy Sage! Hah! I live by myself! But yeah, I mean, I wasn’t a kid when I met him. It was only—um—maybe half a year ago? It was right before the second part of the Chunin Exam. Kakashi-sensei refused to train me because he likes Sasuke better just because stupid Sasuke has the stupid Sharingan.” 

“Kakashi? He’s your jonin sensei?” Minato couldn’t help but smile at the thought of serious, rule-worshiping Kakashi taking on a student like Naruto. Although he certainly had relaxed a great deal after becoming a jonin—after the loss of Obito—so perhaps he had less difficulty with the boy than Minato did. “And I assume Sasuke is another teammate?”

“Yeah, we’re Team Seven, but Sasuke’s not just my teammate, he’s my closest friend! I guess Kakashi-sensei is all right, too, even if he does like Sasuke better. But anyway, he was going to train with Sasuke for the test and he got me a totally lame Closet Pervert Tutor to train with while they were gone. Well I guess he wasn’t that bad, but all he wanted to do was go to a hot spring and teach me how to walk on water.” 

“Fine chakra control is an important foundation for a shinobi.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But while we were at the hot spring, I saw the Pervy Sage. And it was pretty clear that he was a way better ninja than the Closet Pervert, even though he was there to spy on the women’s baths. So I tried to get him to teach me something, and he wouldn’t, and then I did the Harem Jutsu and totally kicked his butt. Then he took me on as a student and taught me how to summon a frog.” 

“I see. Well maybe he didn’t recognize you if you didn’t introduce yourself right away and you met outside of Leaf Village.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing in particular. You say you live alone?”

“Yep. I have an apartment.”

“I see, but who did you live with before you became a genin and started going on missions?”

“I’ve always lived alone.”

“No one took you in?” Thinking about it, it made sense that Jiraiya hadn’t volunteered to raise the boy. That had been a strange assumption to make, knowing how the old sage loved to travel; living a sedentary life in the village and raising a child would be completely foreign to the man. Of course Kakashi, a sixteen-year-old boy with no living family or close friends, could not have stepped forward either. Indeed the war had taken many of Minato and Kushina’s closest friends, so perhaps there was no one person in particular who could be expected to take on the role. Still, it was common practice to place an orphaned infant with a foster family. Minato couldn’t imagine the Third Hokage’s reasons for doing otherwise. 

“Well that’s your fault, isn’t it?” sneered Naruto. “After all, who’d let a Demon Fox live in their house? Anyway, I can take care of myself.”

Minato didn’t respond—he didn’t have time. An unknown shinobi leapt from the top of the nearest building and sprinted across the practice field toward them at a remarkable speed. As the former Hokage sprang to his feet and positioned himself before his son, he realized that action wasn’t necessary. The ninja stopped three feet away. He wasn’t attacking, just staring hard at Minato, one red eye swirling intensely. Minato wondered at his own surprise: of course his former student would be excited to see him.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hello, Kakashi,” Minato said, “It’s been a while.” 

The teen had grown into a fine man. He was still wiry, but as an adult he had the height to compensate—he appeared to have an inch or two on Minato, in fact—and he was styling his silver hair to one side instead of letting it fall in his face as it would. Moreover, the confidence in his stance and the serious glint in his eyes bespoke years of hard battles since their last meeting. That was a shame: it seemed Kakashi’s life hadn’t gotten any easier. 

Kakashi didn’t say anything. 

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, it’s okay, this guy isn’t, like, an enemy or anything. Pervy Sage and Old Lady Tsunade both agree that he’s the Fourth Hokage Jerk, so he’s not a threat.”

Kakashi didn’t move at all.

“I suppose you’d like me to repeat my words from our first meeting?” Minato wasn’t entirely sure he remembered them, but he smiled and raised his hands in a placating gesture. 

“Really, Kakashi-sensei, he’s pretty strong, I don’t think you want to fight him.”

“No,” Kakashi agreed. His voice was hoarse. “I don’t want to fight him.” The man took three stilted steps to cross the distance between them and collapsed against Minato, pulling him into a tight embrace. Smiling a little, Minato wrapped his arms around his former student and returned the hug. 

“It’s good to see you.”

“You’re alive,” Kakashi whispered back. His body was shaking a little against Minato’s and there was a tremor in his voice. “You’re alive.” Kakashi sounded like he might _cry_. Even after Obito’s death, even after Rin’s death, and dozens of other shinobi they both knew lost their lives in that terrible war, Minato had never seen Kakashi shed a tear openly. Not since his father’s suicide when he was just a seven year old chunin, too smart for his own good.

"Dust in your eye?" asked Minato, almost unable to believe that this was, in fact, his student. 

Kakashi forced a chuckle and pulled back, holding Minato by the shoulders. 

"Something like that, Sensei." Those mismatched eyes were dry, at least. "I was on a mission; I only just reported back. The Hokage said we were keeping your return quiet, but she thought I should know."

"And after you tried to release the genjutsu, what happened?"

Kakashi's laugh this time was genuine and happy. He released Minato and pulled his forehead protector down casually over the Sharingan. The unreserved action struck Minato with the full force of all the years he had missed. This was not the taciturn boy he had known; this was a man who was used to showing his feelings. It was a welcome change. "You know me so well, Sensei. After I was convinced that neither the Fifth Hokage nor I was experiencing an illusion, and that you becoming unsealed was plausible, I decided to head over and say hi." 

"Then: hi." Minato felt like his smile might fall off the edge of his face and Kakashi’s matched, for all that it was hidden behind his mask.

"So, ah, Kakashi-sensei, Hokage-dummy, it’s getting dark and I'm going to head home for the day. I've had enough training. I'll see you tomorrow, though, okay?"

Minato tasted iron and felt a surge of something close to panic. He needed more time. "But I haven't even taught you a jutsu, yet. I do know some good ones." 

"Listen, you big bastard, for some reason Kakashi-sensei actually seems to like you," Naruto snarled up at his father. Minato took a physical step backward under the assault. "You guys should, I don't know, go catch up."

"Say, Naruto," Kakashi interceded gently, squatting down to be at eye level with the boy, "We know each other pretty well, don't we?"

"Ah, yeah Sensei."

"You might be Leaf Village’s Number One Unpredictable Ninja, but I’m a genius with extra special powers. So I can prophesy with one hundred percent accuracy that you are really going to like the Fourth Hokage one day. If you keep being so rude, I think you'll regret it."

“I’m not rude. He’s the rude one.”

“Ah. That’s a shame. Let’s make a deal then: if you can tell me his name, I’ll never pester you about your manners ever again.”

“Ha! That’s easy! It’s Toribama!”

Kakashi hit the boy gently with a fan. “Wrong! Tobirama Senju was the Second Hokage. This is Minato Namikaze. Iruka-sensei would be so disappointed in you.” 

“Fine, fine. But that still makes him the rude one. He didn’t even bother to introduce himself.” 

“Look, Naruto, didn’t you tell me the Fourth Hokage was your hero?”

“I never said he was my hero. I said I was going to surpass him. There’s a big difference, Kakashi-sensei. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He’s your friend, he doesn’t have to be mine.” 

“Well, I can tell we’ll have to break out the big guns on this one,” Kakashi said, straightening up. He pressed something into Minato’s hand so casually that the former Hokage didn’t realize it was there himself until after Kakashi had stepped well away from him. “Let’s all go for some Ichiraku Ramen.”

Naruto looked really tempted at first, but his face settled into a stubborn look. “I don’t want to,” he said. “I have food at home as long as you didn’t throw it all away again.” 

“If you looked at the expiration dates yourself, I wouldn’t have to throw away your food,” Kakashi sighed. “You make yourself sick when you eat that stuff, Naruto.”

Looking away from his teacher, Naruto answered, “I know. I’m not mad about that. But I have to save my money, so I’m going to eat at home.” 

Minato glanced down at the money in his hand. “It’ll be my treat,” he offered, following Kakashi’s lead. 

“Really?” the boy asked hopefully. The stubborn façade attempted to return, but it was clearly a struggle to overcome the promise of free food. “Well, that’s—thanks, Hokage-sensei! That’s actually nice of you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Minato murmured a thank you to Kakashi as they followed Naruto from the training field through the village streets. The boy was doing a marching dance and making up a song about ramen and the different types that he might want to eat. Forcing a rhyme between new master and delicious miso was one thing, but Minato really struggled to hold in a laugh when the kid nearly tripped adding a kick step to his dance. Naruto was cute. 

“No problem,” Kakashi returned quietly, “He really is a pretty simple guy. He’s going to warm up to you the minute he realizes that you actually like him.”

Optimism was apparently another new trait of Kakashi’s. Minato had watched the way Kushina suffered during her first years as the Nine Tails’ Jinchuriki; Naruto was right to resent the man who’d forced that on him without consent. Still, the hope was welcome. Clearly Kakashi had been looking after Minato’s son for a while and knew the boy well.

“No, I haven’t,” the jonin said harshly.

“Excuse me?” 

Kakashi sighed. “You haven’t changed a bit, sensei; I can still tell what you’re thinking. Just now, you were feeling grateful that I’ve been looking after Naruto, but I haven’t.” Kakashi’s voice grew softer. “There is no excuse, of course, but I didn’t realize he needed it. I was three when my mother died and I started taking over the household responsibilities. I forgot that other children don’t do things like that, and I assumed the Third Hokage was looking after him. Well, he was, but not very closely.” 

“So as a child?”

“I don’t know.” Kakashi sounded frustrated; he cared, at least. “When I became his jonin-sensei he was living off of ramen and giving himself diarrhea by drinking expired milk. Since then I’ve kept an eye on him when I could, but before that, who knows?” 

“He seems healthy enough,” Minato said doubtfully. “Surely someone was looking after him earlier and simply stopped when he became a genin and you took over.” 

Apparently, Kakashi wasn’t much of an optimist after all. Disbelief was etched into every line of his face, but he was clearly too polite to say anything. They continued following the oblivious boy in uncomfortable silence. A chill blew through the streets of Leaf Village, which suddenly seemed less friendly in the evening dusk. 

“Hey, Naruto!” someone yelled from far up the street, just outside the well-lit ramen stand. 

“Iruka-sensei!” the boy shouted, dashing forward with admirable speed. 

“His academy teacher,” Kakashi explained quietly. 

“Can I treat you?” the chunin offered, “Or are you and Kakashi out on business?” 

“Just training! I’d love it if you’d treat me, Iruka-sensei!”

“I thought,” Minato began uncertainly. While he didn’t particularly want to buy his son’s affection, having the opportunity to do so usurped left him feeling a little cold. After all, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about this man. Barely twenty-four, if that, he had a scar across his nose, a long brown ponytail, and a manner that seemed too gentle for a shinobi. Minato tried not to remember how many times people had made that exact same criticism of his own manner. 

“I want Iruka-sensei to buy me ramen, not you, jerk,” Naruto said, sticking out his tongue. 

“Hey, Naruto!” the teacher said, looking scandalized, “Don’t be rude. I’m very sorry, sir. Naruto is a naturally exuberant boy and constantly exaggerates his feelings for attention even though he knows better. Please accept my apologies. Naruto, apologize to the gentleman.”

It was strange, watching an academy teacher play the role of a family member while Minato was the object of a lesson. Still, this Iruka was able to coax the best display of manners from Naruto that his father had yet witnessed. 

“I’m sorry for calling you a jerk, Lord Hokage,” Naruto said, bowing slightly at the waist, “but I would prefer to be treated to ramen by Iruka-sensei.” The boy looked up at his teacher expecting some sort of validation, but the man was staring at Minato with astonishment. 

“Lord Hokage?” 

“You don’t recognize the Fourth Hokage, Iruka-sensei?” mocked Kakashi. “You sit in front of his portrait every day in the mission room.”

“I—of course I do—I just wasn’t expecting—that is—Lord Fourth Hokage.”

“It’s complicated,” said Minato, who wasn’t feeling very charitable. 

“I’m sure,” the chunin agreed respectfully. “Please forgive my interruption, Lord Hokage. If you have some business with Naruto, he and I can catch up another time.” 

“No,” Minato said, sensing that it was better to speak himself before Naruto could object to the demurral. “Our business for the day is finished. We were simply going to eat together, but Kakashi and I can keep our own company if you do not find our presence too disruptive.”

“Not at all!” the deferential man said. Obviously he would have been happy to let Minato push him aside and monopolize Naruto’s time, which meant that Minato needed to do the opposite in good conscience. The former Hokage and his former student sat at one end of the bar like a couple of old men, quietly placing their orders while Minato pretended he wasn’t eavesdropping. 

“So I thought you were leaving to travel and train with Lord Jiraiya, but the next thing I heard was that you were back in the hospital.”

"Eh, it was just a couple of burns," said Naruto. Minato struggled to maintain a casual demeanor; burns severe enough to be hospitalized were something to be concerned about. "Anyway I was a big hero and saved the whole village, but you don't hear anyone talking about it or anything."

"Oh really, Mr Hero?" Iruka said, tapping Naruto's forehead protector. "How exactly did you save the village?"

"When Stupid over there came back he brought a Demon Fox with him, but it wasn't the real one, because that's in me, so Pervy Sage told me I had to grab it and hold on. Which is how I got burned, but it worked and now that other Demon Fox is in me, too, but it's the same fox. It's pretty complicated, Iruka-sensei, you probably wouldn't understand."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better, in any case. Do you want another bowl, Hero?"

"Yes please, Iruka-sensei!"

The proprietor took Naruto's next order while the teacher nodded benevolently. No one mentioned that perhaps Minato should take a look at Naruto's seal if the boy had absorbed that much yin chakra—effectively doubling the chakra that the seal was intended to repress. Apparently, no one felt there was any need to be concerned about the chakra now that it was sealed within Naruto, no matter that the Nine Tails was the most powerful of the tailed beasts or that Naruto was still incredibly young for a jinchuriki. Minato forced himself to take a deep breath. He could examine the seal tomorrow. No red chakra had appeared while Naruto ran through all of his ninjutsu earlier in the day; the Nine Tails wasn’t the type to act up while his host was sleeping. 

Minato returned his attention to Naruto and the teacher, but they were gossiping about people the former Hokage didn't know. Apparently, someone named Konohamaru was poorly behaved in class, though not as bad as Naruto himself had been. After that, the conversation was even more difficult to follow as it devolved into a series of reminiscences. The boy would say, "Yes, but remember that time Kiba—" and there was no need to continue, they both remembered. Then the teacher would retort something about Naruto and the school toilet, making the boy blush and stammer an excuse. The shared history clearly made them both very happy, but Minato felt a strange, growing anger as the conversation continued. 

"It's nothing inappropriate, if that's what you're thinking," Kakashi whispered. "I looked into that as soon as Naruto joined my team. Iruka just happens to have been a trouble-making orphan himself at the academy, so Naruto is his favorite student." 

"Yes, of course,” Minato agreed, wondering if it was possible to subtly embarrass the young man. Perhaps stealing his purse so that he could not actually treat Naruto to the promised—and already eaten—ramen would work. Minato had never really tried to make mischief before, but he’d forgotten his money on a date with Kushina once and still blushed to think about it. Hitting the man would be simpler, but it was probably out of the question.

“You’re jealous!” Kakashi realized too loudly. If their targets—less than two feet away—had been anyone other than the world’s least observant genin and a chunin desperately attempting to respect Minato’s privacy, Kakashi’s words would definitely have raised a question. 

“And you were more subtle as a teenager.”

Kakashi laughed. Loudly. That got Naruto’s attention, and the boy twisted around on his stool to stare at them. Minato froze. The boy was going to ask, and what if Kakashi answered?

“We’re heading out, Naruto,” Kakashi said, the laughter still warming his voice as he tossed some money onto the counter. “Your next training session is midmorning tomorrow in the same field, so don’t be late.” 

“You’re the one who’s always late, sensei,” Naruto said instead of goodbye. 

Minato wanted to stay, to say something more, even if it was only to argue childishly that while Kakashi had stopped constantly scolding others for breaking rules, he would never go so far as to actually be late himself. Fortunately, Kakashi had a strong arm around his shoulders guiding him out of the ramen stand, and Minato couldn’t resist without looking ridiculous. 

“In the ten years we knew each other, I never once saw you jealous,” Kakashi laughed again when they were safely away. “Iruka-sensei is the one who brings that out of you? Really?”

“He’s my son,” Minato said helplessly. “Of course I’m jealous.” 

“Then tell him that,” Kakashi said, completely serious. “He’s wanted a family his whole life; he’ll forgive you anything if you make that claim.”

Minato paused. “Do you really think I’m making the wrong choice, approaching this gradually?” 

“It—no. No. It would be easier for you—Naruto would make it so easy for you—to simply trade on your relationship. If you turned around right now, told him you were his father, and forbade eating ramen with Iruka ever again, he probably would even though he’s told me more than once that it’s his favorite thing in the world and what gets him through hard missions. But Naruto is Naruto. He isn’t particularly bright, always reacts unpredictably, and has a hard time with the unexpected. I think letting him grow to like you before surprising him that way may be the kindest possible choice.”

It was too awkward to ask—self indulgent, really. Yet Minato had trusted Kakashi’s intellectual judgment as a five-year-old genin; whether he was now a year older or eleven years younger than Minato himself, he clearly had wisdom that could be respected as well. Plus, they were friends; they had been since Minato became a jonin not much older than Naruto. Moreover, Minato could feel tears welling in his eyes. He needed to ask; he needed to relieve some of this terrible uncertainty. 

“Do you think, that is, since you know him well, I was wondering what your opinion on that particular prospect might be? Naruto growing to like me, I mean. Without, that is, being informed as to the nature of our relationship.” 

“Minato.” The single word and the softness in Kakashi’s visible eye said everything. Minato was worrying about nothing. Kakashi found this endearing, but also couldn’t imagine how anyone would ever not like Minato once they knew him. Naturally, Naruto would like him as well; the only thing necessary was patience. 

“So the teacher has become the student,” Minato observed, trying to lighten the mood. “I used to do that to you all the time, just say your name, knowing you would understand.”

“Rin, too,” Kakashi agreed happily. “Never Obito, though. He always needed an explanation for everything.”

“In fairness, he always offered one, too.”

“But Sensei! I couldn’t wade in the river, because I have a letter for my mother in my pocket and it would get wet! Obviously I had to knock down the tree.”

“Or that time with the pigeons.”

“The pigeons were great, but that horrible orange cat was better.”

“I can’t believe he honestly thought it needed help. He needed stitches! I’m still sure he would have lost an arm if you and Rin hadn’t been there.” 

“And he still insisted Rin heal the cat first.”

“Well obviously, everything would have been pointless if you accidentally killed the monster.”

“When Rin said—“

“Just because I treat you sometimes doesn’t mean I’m a veterinarian!”

“She never did give him a chance, did she?”

“They were so young. You were all so young.” Minato sighed. “But you’ve grown wise enough to make an excellent point, Kakashi.”

Kakashi’s visible eye sparkled. “I was starting to worry that I’d need to spell it out for you. I don’t need to tell you how disappointing that would have been for me.” 

“Yes, you’re the cleverest shinobi in the village. But even though his relationship with the teacher is no more an impediment to our forming a bond than my friendship with you, that doesn’t mean that—well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” 

Minato’s sudden melancholy mood was matched perfectly by the fact that they’d arrived at the Hatake Compound. Naturally, he and Kakashi would now have to part ways so that the former Hokage could seek lodgings for the evening. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kakashi said, “You’re staying here. I have six unoccupied bedrooms—seven if we count my own, which we won’t—there’s room.” 

“Seriously, did you take up interrogation while I was away?”

“No, I just remember how unfailingly polite you are. Don’t be with me, though, okay? Seriously, it’s just a bed, and I have some of your old things here anyway. Believe me, you’ll be glad to have them back.”


	5. Chapter 5

The Hatake Compound was exactly as Minato remembered. An elegant wall surrounded the well-maintained garden with three perfectly arranged buildings standing proudly in the traditional style. Kakashi led his old teacher down the flagstone path past the main house to the large storage shed at the back of the compound. Sliding the classic paper door, the silver haired man entered the room and turned on the light. A decade ago this shed had been almost entirely empty with a few gardening implements against one wall and an unused workbench along another. Now—though Minato was positive that each of those tools was in exactly the same place—the shed was full of neatly organized boxes. Kakashi pulled a rather large wooden crate labeled "Sensei - Weapons" from the bottom of a stack and offered it to Minato. 

The inside of the crate was also perfectly organized. Thirty of his custom made kunai bearing teleportation markers were stacked neatly in rows. Alongside those were two of the scrolls he would normally use to pack his teleportation kunai. The scrolls had last been sealed by Minato’s own hand, so he would need to check later to see what they contained. It might have been wiser to check at once, but underneath the scrolls was his father’s old katana. Minato drew it and swung it experimentally. He had affected swordplay while he was a genin, shortly after his father’s death, but grown out of it as he matured into his own style. Still, as a keepsake the sword was comfortingly familiar. He felt less sentiment unpacking the razor sharp shuriken lying underneath the sword. Since they were packed so carefully in the box, Minato did not doubt that they were his, but they were just normal shuriken. They were just ordinary shuriken that Kakashi meticulously cleaned and packed away in remembrance of a dead man. 

Minato looked up at his former student. The shinobi was lounging against the workbench reading a book, feigning inattention. This shed was full of boxes. There were two more on the floor waiting for him labeled “Sensei – Clothes” and “Sensei & Kushina – Things” respectively, but there were dozens more stacked in neat piles along the back wall of the shed. Kushina had two—clothes and weapons—which Minato assumed he would be able to look through at another time. Sakumo’s boxes—notably not labeled with the word father—took up a lot of room, but there were other names as well. Obito and Rin each had a small box, but family had survived them both. Someone named Sasuke—perhaps a relation of Naruto’s proclaimed closest friend—had three large boxes, neatly labeled as clothes, weapons, and things according to the system. Then there were about ten medium sized black boxes. Each of those was labeled with a single word, usually an animal like “Snake”, “Eagle”, or “Fox”. 

“How long were you ANBU?”

“A few years,” Kakashi answered without looking up from his book. “Joined right after you died.” 

The dark boxes were the perfect size to hold a mask, weapons, and all of the personal effects that a black ops operative would be carrying at the time of her death. It made a morbid sort of sense that Kakashi would hold on to these mementos when he would never have known the true names of his teammates. 

“I never did apologize, did I?”

“For what?” grunted the jonin, still pretending to read. If Minato were a better man, perhaps he would have accepted that his friend did not want to hear an apology, but he needed to give one.

“For choosing Naruto.” 

Kakashi’s head snapped up and his book closed audibly. 

“Sealing the Nine Tails in Naruto was the right choice for the village, but he’s my son. I couldn’t let him bear the whole of that burden, so I did the only thing I could to lessen it, even though I knew it would leave you alone. I chose to die, knowing it would hurt you, just as your father did and I’m sorry.” 

“You aren’t my father. Frankly, I’m a little offended by this expression of paternal feeling. You aren’t that much older than me, you know, especially now.” 

“Of course I was never a father to you, but there are parallels. If you had feelings about that—”

“No. You aren’t my father. You chose to give your life honorably for the village and your son; you don’t need forgiveness. Or if you do, then I forgive you, okay?” 

“You really aren’t upset with me,” Minato observed. Kakashi had grown up a great deal, but Minato could still read him that much. 

“Course not,” he said, turning back to his book. “And honestly, I’d rather be stewed in slug acid over a low flame than talk about it even if I was.” Really, that was all that needed to be said. Minato turned his attention to the box of his clothing. 

Not only were his flack jacket, thigh holster, and traveling clothes carefully stored, but all of the casual clothing that had been in his home was folded neatly within the box as well. All of it had been laundered and repaired. Even the blue t-shirt that Kushina kept threatening to throw out because of the curry stain was as pristine as the day he’d bought it. Minato made a mental note to ask Kakashi how he did his laundry. 

That left only the box of mementos. With some trepidation, Minato lifted the lid. Inside he found exactly what he expected—all of the photographs, books, and knickknacks that survived the destruction of his home. He took a few minutes with each one: remembering the day his genin team had posed with Jiraiya-sensei for their first photograph together, remembering the melancholy Kushina had always felt holding that picture of her parents from her destroyed village, and remembering the day they’d posed together in front of their perfect little house. Thirteen years had passed—Minato had been very aware of them passing in that desolate, torturous place—but returning to a world of the living missing so much of what he had known was a fresh kind of loneliness. 

Then Minato’s fingers brushed against something soft. Gently he lifted the small bundle out of the box and laid it in the palm of one hand. It was strange that such a horrible circumstance—the day Kushina was kidnapped by shinobi from the Village Hidden In The Clouds—could have left him with such a precious memento, but it was beautiful. The blue silk ribbon was still tied so carefully around those painstakingly collected red hairs. 

He remembered following that trail, finding each strand of fiery red hair, and being so horribly grateful every time he encountered proof that Kushina was still alive, still conscious, still hoping to be rescued. In the end, it hadn’t even been a very difficult mission with that blazing trail to follow. He found her, helped her escape her captors, and escorted her back to the village. After they returned home, she had asked him almost shyly if there was any special reward he wanted for saving her. Blushing and stuttering the way he always did around her, he’d asked if he could keep the hair. 

“You’re in love with me, aren’t you?” she’d grinned, tying the loose strands deftly together with a ribbon from her pocket. Minato, of course, had been completely unable to answer, but it didn’t matter. After that day, Kushina had liked him. She hadn’t minded when he hung around her, agreed to go on dates whenever he worked up the courage to ask, and even stopped calling him girly. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he could cheat death this way and she was still gone. Not when she had always been so much stronger than he was. 

Gentle hands took the lock of hair from Minato and placed it softly back in the box. Then those hands pulled Minato’s head down so that he could bury his face in the shoulder of a flack jacket. Kakashi didn’t say anything—didn’t try to promise that things would be okay—he just let the man cry. 

Eventually, Minato calmed down and eased out of the embrace. He didn’t know what to say, but Kakashi solved that problem easily. 

“Hey, Minato, it’s getting kind of late. Let me help you carry this stuff to your room.” 

Without waiting for a response, the jonin lifted the box of mementos under one arm and the heavy weapons crate with the other, leaving Minato only his clothes to carry, and walked briskly toward the main house. Exhausted from crying, Minato allowed himself to be led. 

“You remember where everything is,” Kakashi said casually, kicking his shoes off in the entryway. “Let’s put you up in the best room in the house.” 

“That isn’t necessary,” Minato objected, trailing behind him through the living room, past the kitchen and dining room, and on toward the bedrooms. 

“Yeah, but it’ll make me feel good about myself,” Kakashi said, sliding a bedroom door open with one foot. It was an incredibly spacious room with a writing table, a big double bed, a nice dresser, and an outer door that faced the koi pond in the garden. It was also, Minato was willing to bet, the only room in the house that had completely redecorated since he had gone away. Still, the fact that the room wasn’t standing sealed in perfect memorial to the day Sakumo committed suicide was proof that Kakashi had at least thought about reopening this house. 

“You can sort through your own weapons, of course,” he continued, depositing the crate next to a nightstand, “but I’ll help with this stuff.” 

“Stuff?” asked Minato blankly. 

At once, Kakashi was pulling down the pictures on the walls and putting up photographs from the box in his arms. “We’ll want these for the living room, but this one of Kushina is perfect for your nightstand.”

“The living room? Kakashi, I can start looking for my own place in the morning, this isn’t necessary.” 

“That sounds like a hassle. You should just live here.”

“Kakashi, you don’t live here.” It was an inference, of course, but Minato would stake quite a lot on it. 

“I’m going to start, though. It’s too much space for just me, but with you and Naruto to brighten things up, this old shack might just start to feel like a home again.” 

“Naruto?”

“Of course. When he finds out you’re his father, he’s going to want to move in. Believe me, he’d want to move in to a cardboard box if he thought he had family in it.” 

“Well then he and I can pick something out together. Something that he’ll like.” 

Kakashi’s bustling smile dropped away. 

“Please,” he said, “Stay here with me. Please.” 

Minato’s heart twisted in his chest. He didn’t know why this was so important to Kakashi, but he could guess. All those boxes full of dead friends made the events of the past thirteen years fairly clear. 

“Fine. Thank you for the hospitality. But I obviously can’t speak for Naruto. I mean, he may not want to live with me at all when he learns the truth. Even if he does, he might prefer for it to be just the two of us. We’ll have to see.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Kakashi said with a more genuine smile. “We can arrange the furniture tomorrow; you’re clearly exhausted.”

“Thank you.”

After Kakashi left, sliding the door gently closed behind him, Minato managed to stuff his clothing into the dresser in a parody of neatness. Then, he changed into a loose fitting t-shirt and collapsed into bed. 

Unfortunately, the moment he closed his eyes, the pain returned. The swirling wind so cold that it burned piercing through the darkness that held so many enemies. Minato was fast, he could fight them and avoid them, but eventually they always caught him, tearing him open with claws and teeth until he was in small enough pieces that he could escape, regroup, and flee further into the darkness. After an eternity, dawn came.


	6. Chapter 6

Minato felt fairly wrecked in the morning, padding absently from the bathroom to the kitchen where Kakashi was cooking breakfast. It was a simple affair, just rice with an egg, but the tea was very nice. 

Politely as he could after such a night, he thanked his host for the food. 

“Well I had plenty of time this morning. You’re better than an alarm clock.”

“Oh please! If I was making noise in the morning, then I was making it the moment my head hit the pillow.” 

Kakashi shrugged and completely failed to hide how pleased he was to be given such an easy admission. 

“Nightmares happen. Was it the Fox or the Reaper?”

“Reaper. Being inside it—wasn’t fun.” 

“You remember it? You haven’t aged a day, so I’d hoped—well.” 

Minato returned the shrug. “It was a fate I chose.” 

“That doesn’t matter. Thirteen years of something like that—how are you still sane?” 

“I used a meditation technique Kushina taught me to divorce my mind from my experiences and live within memory. The Uzumaki used it to evade any and all physical torture, though it is less effective against someone like Inoichi. I should really teach it to you. Unfortunately, the belly of the Death God wasn’t a physical place. The technique was partly effective in that my memories and personality were shielded somewhat from the horror, but I was still regrettably aware of what was happening. That awareness—I’ve been changed by the experience.”

“You were jealous last night,” Kakashi agreed, kindly failing to mention the bouts of weeping and other signs of emotional instability. 

“Hopefully it will pass.”

“In the mean time, we should see how it’s affected your ability.”

“Oh?”

“Minato-sensei, I challenge you to a practice match!”

Minato laughed—Kakashi never challenged anyone to anything—and accepted. It was an excellent idea.

The practice field was exactly as they’d left it: a large lawn with a few wooden posts surrounded by trees. Wordlessly, the two men moved to the center of the lawn, made the seal of confrontation, and clashed together. 

Kakashi’s taijutsu had improved. Part of that was due to his physical growth, of course, a few inches in reach could make a big difference in a fight, but he was faster as well. His speed nearly matched Minato’s own, and they were fairly evenly matched in strength too. Trading blows this way was exhilarating, especially since Kakashi was also thinking six moves ahead and none of Minato’s strategies could be brought to fruition. He never had to worry about hurting Kakashi accidentally; he couldn’t.

Then without warning, Kakashi leapt back and shot a Fireball Jutsu at his sparring partner. Minato had no choice. The only way to dodge quickly enough was to throw one of his special kunai and teleport away. After that, it only made sense to open his scrolls and throw more of his kunai in a scattering pattern around the field. It was a pity to start his Flying Thunder God Technique so soon, because Minato was enjoying himself, but if Kakashi intended to use jutsu then his partner would need a defense. 

Kakashi had a defense of his own. As Minato was scattering his teleportation markers his opponent thrust his hands into the ground for an Earth-Style Wall. Several kunai imbedded deep in the wall, but Kakashi had effectively blocked off a portion of the field as safe from Minato. Naturally, the wall would have to go. Minato considered using the Rasengan, but it would be better to blast the wall to pieces than to make a hole so he hit it with a Wind Scythe instead. Brushing rubble away as he stood up, Kakashi lifted his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan. 

That was when the fight began in earnest. Minato began teleporting, flitting from marker to marker randomly so that the Sharingan couldn’t predict his movements. As he did so, he threw shuriken or came in close for an attempted strike, but those Kakashi always caught or dodged. Meanwhile, Kakashi was forming a great many hand seals, finishing at last with a shout of “Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!” 

An enormous dragon made entirely of flowing water reared up out of the grass and shot around the field teeth first, attempting to attack Minato. He managed to teleport away, but the jutsu was so large that he was soaked and struck in the process before Kakashi in his overconfidence stepped too close to one of the kunai in the rubble of the earth wall. It was the opening Minato had been waiting for. He teleported in and kicked Kakashi hard in the back. The shadow clone vanished in a puff. 

From beneath the ground Kakashi sprang up between Minato’s legs, holding a Rasengan. The former Hokage only barely managed to teleport away in time.

“You’re more proficient in Earth Style now,” Minato said. “You didn’t know the Hidden Mole Jutsu the last time we saw each other.” 

“Learn something new every fight,” Kakashi agreed breathlessly. “I couldn’t use water or fire style back then, either.” 

“Unfortunately,” Minato continued, teleporting in behind Kakashi and pressing a kunai against the back of his neck, “this is over now.” 

“Yes,” Kakashi laughed, letting the Rasengan dissipate, “yes it is.” 

Minato put his blade away and the pair locked their fingers together in the sign of reconciliation. 

“You really did almost have me,” Minato said. “You’ve come a long way from straight line attacks at high speed.” 

“No point in mastering a thousand jutsu if I can’t figure out which ones to use,” Kakashi demurred pleasantly. “You’re still too fast for me, though.” 

“That’s nothing. Anyone can do a teleportation jutsu—that water dragon of yours was incredible. For someone without a natural affinity to summon that much water in a place like this, you’ve become amazingly strong.” 

“Teach me that!” Naruto demanded, pouncing out of a tree at the edge of the field and dashing over to interrupt the older men. “That jutsu where you move so fast all over the place! I want to learn to do that!” 

"We'll talk about it," Minato demurred. 

The Flying Thunder God Jutsu was nothing particularly special. Practically every ninja was capable of a transportation jutsu or something similar—it was nearly impossible to graduate from Hidden Leaf's academy without at least being able to do the substitution jutsu—but the key to the Flying Thunder God was keeping a perfect map of the battlefield in mind at all times. Very few shinobi had the spatial awareness necessary to maintain multiple teleportation markers at once. Even Kakashi—a genuine genius—had only been able to hold on to ten when Minato had tried to teach it to him. Moreover, it interfered with Kakashi's own style of gathering information about an opponent before attacking—a style that Kakashi had clearly perfected. Minato somehow doubted that the Flying Thunder God would mesh well with Naruto’s style either. 

"You know, if you had attacked me with Chidori instead of Rasengan—impressive as it is that you’ve mastered it—you probably could have hit me. The speed and reach of the lightning style would have—" 

"Yes, sensei," Kakashi interrupted, "But if I attacked you with Chidori, I might have hit you with Chidori." 

"That's not a jutsu to use against a friend," Naruto said, looking unusually subdued. Kakashi put a firm, comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled. 

"Well, I'll leave the cleanup to the two of you. I should go report in to the Hokage. The village is still short on shinobi and I did leave without receiving my next assignment yesterday."

"Thank you for the match. Good luck with the Hokage."

"See you at home! If I won't be back by tonight, I'll send Pakkun to help you with the rest of the unpacking."

Before Minato could protest that he didn't need a summoning animal to baby sit him, Kakashi leapt up to a low tree branch and sprinted away.

"You're living with Kakashi-sensei? I knew you were a pervert!"

"Excuse me?"

"Kakashi-sensei is a pervert; I don't believe for one second that he slept on the floor!"

"We slept in separate rooms!"

"Ha! Kakashi-sensei's apartment only has one bedroom!"

"Which is why he invited me to stay at his house. Really, this is ridiculous, Naruto. I love my wife!"

"Er. Wife?"

"Loved. I loved my wife. I'm sorry. It's—I misspoke." Naruto looked incredibly uncomfortable, which meant that he matched Minato's feelings perfectly. 

"Um. Kakashi-sensei has a house?"

"Yes. It's been in his family since the village was established. We can go there for lunch later, if you'd like to see it."

"Okay!"

"First things first," Minato said, feeling for the first time that he had a good handle on what to do with Naruto. “I would like to inspect your seal.”

“My seal?”

“The jutsu that keeps the Nine Tailed Fox trapped inside of you. You absorbed a massive amount of chakra through it, and I want to make sure there was no damage.” 

“If it was damaged, would the fox leave?”

“It would take over your body, yes. Please lift up your shirt.”

“No, I mean, could you take it out of me? Put it somewhere else? In a rock or something?”

“I’m sorry. No jinchuriki has ever survived the removal of a tailed beast for more than a few hours. You would die. Moreover, only a ninja with very strong chakra can keep such a demon contained; an inanimate object is not a feasible host. ”

“Oh,” the boy said, lifting his shirt. The seal was intact. An Uzumaki seal in the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was of course capable of allowing unidirectional chakra flow—or even multidirectional flow under the right circumstances—without weakening. Still, it was reassuring to see the seal himself. If Minato was going to take over Naruto’s training, he needed to ask Jiraiya-sensei for the return of Gerotora, the toad who held the key to the seal. One day Naruto was going to gain control over the Demon Fox, and he needed to be able to release its power. Of course, that was far in the future; first he would need to be able to talk to it. 

“Everything looks fine,” Minato reassured him. “We can begin your training.”

A jinchuriki needed a solid foundation in meditation and introspection to be able to communicate at while with his or her Tailed Beast. The ideal way to obtain that would be through dedicated meditation like Jiraiya-sensei’s sage training, but Naruto didn’t seem the type to sit still for very long. Luckily, Minato also knew a good meditative kata designed to focus thoughts through the movement of the body. The forms were very simple—punches, kicks, and blocks every shinobi learned at the academy—but perfectly arranged to flow seamlessly together and free the mind. He showed it to his son and walked through it twice with him perfecting his stance, then left the boy to continue while he cleaned up the remnants of his bout with Kakashi. 

First, he gathered up all of his own weapons examining each one carefully for signs of damage and sealing his custom kunai into the appropriate scrolls. Next, he used his own water style jutsu to gather the vast puddles left behind by Kakashi’s water dragon and spread that water out among the trees so that it wouldn’t kill the grass. After that, Minato used some of the rocks from the broken earth wall to fill in the hole left by the Hidden Mole Jutsu. Finally, all that remained was to cart the rest of the broken stones to the tree line and scatter them so they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. In the end, the training field was almost exactly as it had been that morning.

Cleaning done, Minato allowed himself to sit on the soft grass and watch Naruto. The boy moved hesitantly through the forms, nearly falling over when he noticed that he now had Minato’s undivided attention. After observing three more attempts at the kata, correcting as needed, Minato put an end to the morning training and suggested they break for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given Minato a jutsu that there is not direct cannon evidence for. I'm so naughty! Still, it's been said more than once that you don't get to be a jonin without an elemental jutsu and he doesn't have any. I extrapolated. I hope it doesn't throw anyone out of the story too much.


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey, Sensei?” Naruto asked as they headed toward the village bank, “Will this training really make me powerful? It’s pretty easy stuff, you know.” 

“This kata is a foundation for the most powerful technique ever possessed by a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.”

“Really? Is it that super fast jutsu you were using against Kakashi-sensei earlier?”

“No, something much stronger.”

After the bank, the pair went to the market. Minato wasn’t entirely sure where the breakfast food had come from, but he was fairly positive that Kakashi wouldn’t have a great many ingredients lying around the kitchen of a vacant house. 

“Are we buying things for lunch?” asked Naruto, as though Minato might be buying cabbage for a training exercise, or leading the boy through the grocer’s without ever intending to feed him.

“I thought we could have okonomiyaki.” Minato wondered if boys still liked that sort of thing. It was fried and savory and not particularly wholesome. Minato had always loved it as a genin, but perhaps Naruto hated it. Maybe he was allergic to cabbage. “My wife used to make the best okonomiyaki in the world and she taught me her secret recipe. Unless you don’t like it?”

“Sounds good! I like pork in my okonomiyaki!” 

“Then we’ll have to get some pork,” said Minato indulgently, feeling relieved. 

By the time the pair made their way to the Hatake Compound they were loaded down with a week’s worth of groceries and anything that had caught Naruto’s eye even briefly. Showing the best manners Minato had seen in the boy yet, Naruto toed off his sandals and helped put the food in the barren pantry even though he was clearly burning with curiosity about the house. 

“You can look around while I get started on lunch,” Minato offered. By the time he finished speaking Naruto was halfway out of the kitchen.

“Okay, if you’re sure Kakashi-sensei won’t mind!” he shouted, already opening the china cabinet in the dining room and inspecting the family cutlery. 

“He won’t,” said the small brown dog directly behind Naruto, “but don’t break anything.”

Even moving as fast as he could, Minato barely managed to catch the plate Naruto dropped when he yelped in surprise. 

“Hello, Pakkun. It’s been a while,” the former Hokage said, putting the dish away. 

“You’re back early. I was taking a nap, or I’d have met you at the door.” 

“You startled me, you weirdo dog!”

“Then you should pay better attention to your surroundings.” 

“Can I assume from your presence here, Pakkun, that your master’s mission will be a long one?”

“Three days if everything goes the way it should.”

“I was paying attention to my surroundings! You snuck up on me.”

“A real shinobi never lets anyone get the drop on him. Do you think I can sneak up on Kakashi?”

Naruto growled in rage. Pakkun just smirked at him. 

“Well, I’ll let the two of you play. I’m sure Pakkun can answer any questions you have about the house, Naruto. Would you like to join us for lunch, Pakkun? We’re having okonomiyaki.”

“I’d be delighted,” the pug said politely. Naruto snorted and wandered away to explore more, so Minato returned to the kitchen to continue his preparations. 

While Minato cooked he listened in on Naruto’s bizarre guided tour of the house. 

“So this is Hokage-sensei’s room, huh? It’s nice. I see what Kakashi-sensei meant about unpacking, though. Who wants a crate in their room? Also he hasn’t got anything at all in his closet.”

“Well, he did just arrive last night. These things take time.” 

“That’s a really great garden! Are there real fish in this pond?”

“Get back on the porch. Humans aren’t supposed to go out barefoot.”

“What do you care? You’re a dog!”

“A ninja dog that doesn’t want his master’s house to be filled with mud by an excitable puppy. Put your shoes on if you want to see the garden.”

“Nah, let’s look in Kakashi-sensei’s room. Which one is it?”

“He slept here last night.”

“What? There’s nothing in here! Just a bed and stuff! He doesn’t even have any clothes!”

“He usually stays in his apartment. I’m sure he’ll bring his things here eventually.”

“Why does Kakashi-sensei need an office? And where are his books? These are all just strategy and stuff, not the ones he usually reads.”

“This was his father’s office, and Kakashi has read plenty of strategy books in his time. Again, his personal things are at his apartment.” 

“There sure are a lot of bedrooms in this place, but none of them have any good stuff.” 

“That wall hanging you’re poking is worth over 2,000 ryo.”

“What! Sorry. But that’s not what I meant. I mean, there aren’t any pictures of Kakashi-sensei as a kid or anything like that.” 

“No, because Kakashi lives in an apartment. He keeps his personal things there.” 

Minato decided it was probably time to put an end to things before Pakkun got frustrated and bit Naruto. Also, okonomiyaki were best served hot. 

“Lunch is ready,” he called and Naruto immediately appeared, sitting at the kitchen counter with a napkin tied around his neck. 

Minato blinked. “Did you wash your hands?”

“Oh, nope,” the boy said, zipping off to the bathroom. Pakkun appeared before Naruto returned, holding a dog bowl hopefully in his mouth, so Minato gave the little pug the first pancake. To his credit, Naruto didn’t pout about that at all when he returned. 

“These really are good,” he gushed. “Your wife must have been a really awesome cook! Was she a Ninja Chef?”

“She was certainly a shinobi, but she wasn’t a Ninja Chef, no.” 

“Say, Hokage-sensei?”

“You want another?”

“Well, yeah, that too, please.” 

Minato fried another cake and waited for the real question. 

“What’s this jutsu that you’re going to teach me? The one I’m practicing that kata for, I mean.”

“It isn’t a jutsu, precisely, but it will make you the most powerful shinobi in the village if you master it.”

“Really?”

“I’m going to teach you how to control the Nine Tails.” 

“Oh? That would be pretty useful. I mean, he’s lent me his chakra when my life was in danger before, but to be able to do it whenever I want would make me pretty strong, I guess!” 

“This would be much more than that. Using the Nine Tails Chakra without having mastered Kurama first is very dangerous. The fox could take control of your body and run free. I hope I don’t need to tell you how dangerous that would be. No, until you have complete control over him, you should fight with your own power, not his.” 

“Kurama?”

“That’s his name. He’s very old, very powerful, and very resentful of the way he has been treated. The only thing that can overcome his hatred is—well—I’ve been told, that is, that it is love.”

“Love?” the boy asked, turning red. “You mean like, like, if there’s a girl that I like, or something, I mean, just for example?”

Minato refrained from laughing. “That’s certainly one way to go about it. I believe his previous jinchuriki used the love she shared with her husband to control him. At least that is what I was told.”

“Jinchuriki?”

“A person who has a Tailed Beast sealed inside her—or him.” 

“So the Fox—Kurama—was in someone else before me?”

“Ah, yes, my wife Kushina, actually. Are you finished eating? If you are you should get back to practicing.” 

“Oh! Um. But, um. But how can taijutsu help me control a demon?” 

“This form is the first step. When you have mastered it, you will be able to enter your own mind to talk to Kurama whenever you like. Talking is always the first step to making an enemy into an ally.” 

“Oh, sure! I knew that! Thanks for the food!” Naruto dashed to the front hall, yanked on his sandals, and scampered out into the yard to practice his kata. Minato sighed and started cleaning up the kitchen. 

When he finished, the former Hokage settled himself on the porch to watch Naruto’s training. Pakkun padded over and curled up next to him for a nap. The shinobi was grateful that the dog didn’t seem inclined to criticize the somewhat faltering attempts at each form. Even if the boy had possessed no natural ability, Minato liked to think that he would be impressed by his son’s dedication. The genin slowly perfected each move and seemed to understand the purpose of the exercise now; each time he finished the kata, he began again seamlessly. Sitting and watching him was very peaceful, although Minato could tell that Naruto had yet to achieve real introspection. 

After a time, Minato noticed that the sun was almost entirely gone from the sky so he returned to the kitchen to prepare a quick dinner. 

“Hey, Hokage-sensei?” Naruto said, slurping down his miso, “What were you doing while you watched me practice?”

“Was I distracting you?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Just, you know, Kakashi-sensei is always reading a book if he even sticks around to watch me and Sasuke train, and the Pervy Sage usually takes a nap. Weren’t you bored watching me?”

“I see. Well, my style of teaching may differ from theirs, as my personality does. I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but I may be a slightly more involved instructor than you are accustomed to.” 

For reasons that Minato couldn’t quite understand, this made Naruto blush. “That’s okay. I mean, I don’t mind if you want to watch me.” The boy perked up, “Especially not if you keep feeding me! This miso is great!”

“Thank you. It is another of Kushina’s recipes, so I’m glad you like it.”

“That’s your wife? The, ah, the other person who had, um. Is she the woman with the pretty red hair in the picture on your nightstand?”

“That’s her. Of all the things Kakashi managed to save, I think I might be most grateful for the recipe book. This way, you can get to know her a little, even though she’s gone.”

“Eh? Kakashi-sensei had your stuff? You didn’t bring it here?”

“Yes, he kept a few of my things, perhaps to remember me by, while I was—away.” Minato felt the tide of those horrible memories threatening to rise. As a shinobi, the master of his own mind, he shoved them away. Sharing a meal with his son was a far better thing to focus on than darkness and pain. 

“Was it bad? Being sealed away with that fake Demon Fox?”

“It—wasn’t pleasant. However, if I had to make the same sacrifice again for this village I would. That is what it means to be the Hokage; you should remember as much if that is your goal.” 

“Of course!” 

Naruto actually helped Minato wash and put away the dishes after the pair finished eating. 

“I know it’s late,” the boy said, “but I don’t really want to go home yet. Can we train some more?” 

Minato hesitated. “The point of this exercise is for you to encounter Kurama while you are fully in control, to learn how to simply chat with him at will. If you are overly tired or in any way stressed, it would defeat our goal entirely. I think further training tonight is out. However, if you do not wish to walk home alone, I could accompany you. Or you might stay in one of the empty rooms here—I’m sure Kakashi would not object.”

“I’m not a little kid! I’m a really strong ninja! I’ve never been afraid to walk around at night!”

“That isn’t what I meant, Naruto.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sensei,” the boy said angrily, stomping toward the foyer to pull on his shoes. Then he hesitated and turned back to Minato. “In the morning, right?” 

“Sure. Feel free to come here as soon as you’re ready. While we’re working on this, we don’t really need a whole practice field. The garden is spacious enough.”

“Right! Goodnight, Sensei!”


	8. Chapter 8

Pakkun's idea of helping Minato unpack was to nag until he started and then quibble over the placement of every single photograph. Minato didn't want to put anything in the living room except the photographs of Team Jiraiya from his genin days and the first day of Team Minato with serious five-year-old Kakashi the only one unsmiling. Pakkun kept insisting—almost certainly at the command of his master—that more of Minato's personal items needed to go in the common rooms. 

"But don't you think it would look good with a picture of Kakashi and Naruto's team right here? Simplicity isn't necessarily a lack of personality."

The dog cocked his head to one side considering. 

"I'll be back. Keep unpacking." 

Minato wondered if the ninja hound would run all the way to Kakashi's side and interrupt his mission with questions about interior decorating. It didn't particularly matter; the man was grateful to continue without the commentary. 

Since Kakashi's wishes were very clear and Pakkun had only made them clearer, Minato decided to move at least one of his things into every room of the house. He left his well-worn copy of "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja" on the kotatsu in the hopes that Naruto might notice it and then moved on to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Minato put Kushina's hastily organized recipe book with all of its loose notes and the statue of a fat little man that she'd always hated on a high shelf. They looked lonely; so he let the ugly white goose with the basket of yellow daisies that had polluted his last kitchen join them. Then, of course, he spent a few minutes sitting at the kitchen counter trying to stop crying. 

Needing to wash his face, Minato moved on to the bathroom. This was the easiest room to move into because there was nothing particularly personal about his personal effects. He had a number of toiletries from his trip to the market that he could stow appropriately, nothing emotional or difficult about that. The office was a good place for the pen Hiruzen had given him to commemorate Minato's appointment as the Fourth Hokage. It also had elegant bookshelves with lots of space alongside the imposing leather bound tomes for the few novels that had survived the destruction of the old house. Finally, Minato returned to his bedroom to better organize his clothing and weapons as well as the most personal of his keepsakes. 

Minato was just bringing the now empty boxes and crates back to the storage shed when Pakkun came skidding to a halt in front of him. There was something in the dog’s mouth; Minato put his load down and accepted it. The photograph was perfect. Behind his mask, Kakashi was grinning broadly with one hand on Naruto’s head, and his other hand on the head of a boy Naruto seemed very angry with. Between the two boys was a grinning girl with soft pink hair and a lovely smile. 

“Do you know—is that boy Sasuke?”

“That’s him. He’s a cold one.”

“Thank you, Pakkun, it’s just what we needed.”

“The boss had it in his apartment. He’s planning to move the rest of his stuff here when he gets back from the mission, so there’s no harm in bringing it over now.”

“And we must get everything situated as quickly as possible,” Minato agreed, still not sure why that was important to his friend.

“Kakashi has been lonely,” Pakkun admitted carefully, after they’d stowed the boxes and returned to the house. “He has Guy, of course, and to a lesser extend Asuma and Kurenai, but since you left. Well, he’s been lonely.” 

Minato didn’t know how to respond to that. He had known at the time of his death, of course, that with the bizarre exception of Guy, he was the last of Kakashi’s close friends. Still, it would have been better, more natural, for the young man to simply make new connections. Then again, the boxes full of the possessions of dead ANBU shinobi suggested that perhaps he had done so, and perhaps those had been taken from him as well. 

Minato was still contemplating the matter when he finally fell asleep. After that, of course, the nightmares came. The pain in the dark, the stabbing, bleeding, aching cold, and the enemies that chased him made everything that was himself moot. Then, something warm interrupted the dream. He opened his eyes groggily; it was barely even midnight. 

“Pakkun?” he wondered, smelling the dog before he was fully awake.

“You’re safe,” the familiar rumbled. “Go back to sleep.” 

“You’re in my bed,” Minato observed blearily.

“You looked like you needed someone to cuddle.” 

“What happened to summoning animals not being pets?”

“I have my orders.”

Orders. Kakashi had left Pakkun to help with Minato’s nightmares. Of course he had. Minato didn’t feel up to arguing, so he rolled over and went back to sleep. Twice more during the night the dog nudged him awake, rescuing him from that frozen hell. By the morning, Minato was actually grateful for the assistance, but when he managed to wake up all the way, Pakkun was gone. Less tired than he might have been, Minato stumbled through the usual morning rituals trying to remember that it would be ridiculous to feel lonely. 

Eventually, Naruto turned up with a, “Hey, Sensei! I’m all fired up to train, do you want to watch me?” and Minato began to feel better. The boy showed the same determination as he had the day before, and barely needed any correction at all. Then around noon, Jiraiya-sensei stopped by as well. To his credit, Naruto didn't even slow his kata at the unexpected arrival.

“He’s working hard, as usual.”

“Yes, and the fact that I had nothing to do with instilling this ethic does nothing to keep me from being proud.”

“Oh ho! Not nothing, Minato. He is who he is because of you.”

“Perhaps more so than I might have thought. I was very rude to you and Lady Tsunade the other day.”

“Since you woke up when Tsunade was convinced that you couldn’t possibly recover, we’re both prepared to forgive anything. Not to mention that your definition of rude barely rates a mention on our scale.” 

“Still, I should at least have thanked you for taking Naruto on as a student.”

“Don’t thank me,” Jiraiya-sensei said sharply. “Don’t you thank me for anything. I took Naruto on as a student because he is the kind of student I like—a poor thinker and a hard worker with a lot of chakra who never gives up. I didn’t do anything as a favor to you, and I should have. There’s no excuse for it, but I wasn’t here. I didn’t know how bad it was.”

“Kakashi said something very similar, but really, you are both overreacting. Naruto is happy, healthy, and talks about his friends all the time. No reasonable man could ask for better treatment of his son.” 

“From what I’ve gathered, every parent in the village forbade their children from playing with Naruto.”

Minato froze; then he slowly forced another cheerful smile. “Well, he seems to have won the worthwhile ones over with his personality. If anything, that simply makes me prouder.” 

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed. “And then there is the matter of the way he thinks about food. I’ve seen others who have that same obsession.” 

“So have I: growing boys.” 

“Naruto is different. He’s no Akimichi, but feed him once and he’s yours forever. He’ll do things for the promise of food that he wouldn’t dream of attempting for any other reason. He is constantly thinking about his next meal. We’ve both met adults like that, and they all had the same kind of childhood.”

“Nonsense, Sensei. Total nonsense. My child never went hungry in Leaf Village.” 

“Naruto!” Jiraiya shouted, “It’s lunchtime!” 

The boy stopped in the middle of his kata and leapt into the air with a cheer. There was nothing sinister about that. Minato had already observed that Naruto was a fairly simple, extremely expressive person. That didn’t mean he was inordinately obsessed with food. After all, this time he toed off his sandals and went to wash up in the bathroom without needing to be asked. Even if he very nearly beat Jiraiya and Minato to the kitchen counter, that certainly didn’t imply anything more than the truth that Naruto had spent the morning exercising while Minato had done nothing more than watch. 

“What did you make today? Hokage-sensei is a really good cook, Pervy Sage. You’re in for a treat!”

“Kushina’s brown curry,” Minato said, ladling some over rice for Naruto before serving his teacher. 

“Smells great! Here I go!” 

While the boy wolfed down his lunch, Minato tried hesitantly to broach the subject several times. Jiraiya, with his usual lack of tact, put him out of his misery.

“Slow down,” the old man said, cuffing Naruto lightly on the back of his head. “What? Did you forget to feed yourself a lot as a child?” 

Minato wanted to say something to Jiraiya about children not feeding themselves, but Naruto actually blushed and started eating more slowly. Every thought in Minato’s head shattered like falling icicles and no words would come.

“Oh ho! So you did forget. Such an absent minded student.”

“I never forgot,” protested Naruto, “I just wasn’t very good at math!”

The sage sniffed disbelievingly. “What does math have to do with eating?”

“Well the Old Man would give me money every month for food and clothes and stuff so that I could pick out what I liked, right? And it always seemed like a lot of money because I wasn’t very good at math, so I’d go to Ichiraku and eat whatever I wanted. But then after the first week, I wouldn’t have very much money left and I couldn’t even have cup ramen whenever I wanted and I would just have to eat mixed rice because that was cheaper.” 

“Ha! You really are a slow one, Naruto! When I was in the academy I could do all sorts of sums in my head!”

“Me too! Iruka-sensei taught me all sorts of tricks to keep track of my money by the time I was in the Academy! I’m talking about when I was really little, Pervy Sage! I bet you weren’t all that great when you were three!” 

“Oh ho! Three was it?” 

Minato didn’t let Jiraiya finish. He kicked his teacher’s stool out from under him. “Stop,” he commanded.

Jiraiya rolled backward out of the kitchen, dodging the kotatsu to stand in the living room. “Stop what?” he laughed, “Talking about what really happened?”

Minato caught his teacher with an uppercut that sent him flying through the paper doors and into the koi pond. “It didn’t happen that way!” Minato collapsed against the wall, sank to the floor, and drew his knees up against his chest. “Tell me you never went hungry,” he begged the worried looking Naruto who kept glancing anxiously from Minato to the hole in the door. 

“Nah, I never went hungry. I mean, I felt hungry sometimes, but that’s not really the same thing. And sometimes Mr. Teuchi would give me a free bowl of ramen late in the month when I’d run out of money. Plus, once Iruka-sensei liked me he started buying me ramen all the time. And now I get money from missions and stuff and I’m really careful with it so I can buy all sorts of good things to eat.” 

Minato couldn’t look his son in the eye. He buried his face in his knees and tried at least to hide his tears from the boy.

“Man, he really cares about food, doesn’t he?”

“Not food,” Jiraiya-sensei said, squatting down to put a warm hand on Minato’s shoulder. 

“They let him starve,” Minato admitted, looking up into his old teacher’s face. “Would they have let him die if it hadn’t meant releasing the fox?”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I failed you.”

“That isn’t an answer!” Minato had never felt so angry in his life—not during the war, not after Rin’s tragic death, not even after Kushina was murdered. “Would they have let my son starve to death, neglected in the street, even after all we sacrificed?” 

“Not Hiruzen,” Jiraiya-sensei said firmly. “He would never have let a child die in Hidden Leaf, no matter the circumstances. You know that.”

“Do I? How convenient that he isn’t alive to discuss this with me.” 

“Son?” asked a very small voice. 

Minato looked up at the young man and felt very keenly how ridiculous he must look, slumped on the floor like a child throwing a temper tantrum. He was not the Fourth Hokage. He was not the Leaf’s Yellow Flash. He was not even Legendary Lord Jiraiya’s most brilliant student. Here he was a broken, tortured soldier, unable to accept reality. He was not the father a boy like Naruto would choose. 

“You said—did you—am I?”

It took a great deal of effort, but Minato marshaled his emotions and rose to his feet. Wiping his tears discreetly with a sleeve he attempted to look presentable. 

“I’m afraid that it is true,” he apologized. “I am your father.” 

Naruto’s whole face collapsed. Minato had hoped that the boy was softening toward him somewhat, but apparently that was not the case. The child didn’t even yell an invective as he sprinted out through the garden and over the wall barefoot. Jiraiya-sensei put a restraining hand on Minato’s shoulder. 

“Let me be the one to talk to him.” 

Knowing that his own emotions were far too tempestuous to calm his son, Minato nodded and allowed Jiraiya to leap after the boy alone.


	9. Chapter 9

Minato managed to restrain himself for a full minute. He needed to follow his teacher and his son; he needed to know what was going through the boy’s mind. 

“What kind of bastard would do that to his own son?” Naruto was shouting when Minato found the pair standing together in a clearing in the nearby woods. He deftly hid himself in the treetops to listen.

“Come, come. He didn’t know how you would be treated. I think his manly exasperation earlier proved that well enough.” 

“Manly exasperation? What are you even talking about? The way he looked—and another thing! He’s so—“ weak, pathetic, broken, trusting, Minato’s mind filled in. “—polite.” Naruto finished as though that was the worst insult he could imagine. “This whole time he’s been pretending to be nice to me. Was he even gonna tell me? Was he waiting for me to prove myself or something?” 

“It seems he was worried about your reaction to the news. Foolish of him, I know, but he thought that a boy who came into his hospital room shouting about how much he was owed might throw a temper tantrum when he learned the truth.” 

“I’m not throwing a temper tantrum! This is—this is manly exasperation!” 

“Oh ho! And what are you exasperated with, my young apprentice? Having a father known throughout the world as one of the greatest heroes the Land of Fire has ever seen?” 

“The way he looked—what he said! You were there; you heard him!” 

“What did I hear? His righteous indignation at your mistreatment? I can understand why that would upset you.” 

“No! The part where—it doesn’t matter! He’s a jerk!” 

“Naruto.” 

“Fine. He isn’t. It’s fine.” 

“Really, Naruto, why are you so upset?” 

“Do you think we’ll be a family now? I mean, do you think that’s what he—?” 

“I think he’ll go along with whatever makes you comfortable,” Jiraiya-sensei said sensibly. “But I also think you should be having this conversation with him. Let’s head back.” 

Minato teleported back to the house so he could have lunch cleared away and be working to repair the paper door by the time they arrived. 

“Now,” Jiraiya-sensei said before anyone else had a chance to break the tension, “I actually came over today to share some sad news. Unfortunately, you will be deprived of my wisdom and charm for a little while. I would like to stay, of course, but someone has to look deeper into this Akatsuki business, and I’m afraid that’s me.” 

“How long do you think you will be gone, Sensei?” asked Minato, attempting to stifle the self-pity at the thought of Jiraiya not being available to help him with Naruto. 

“Oh, a few months at the most.”

“But what about our training trip!” 

“Come on, Naruto, don’t you want to train with the Fourth Hokage? He’s forgotten more about jinchuriki than I ever knew. You wouldn’t really rather go on a trip with me?” 

Naruto hesitated, as though he would very much rather go on a training trip with Jiraiya-sensei, but he nodded. 

“Is that—okay with you, Hokage-sensei? I mean, you only promised to teach me some jutsu, that’s not the same as being my teacher for a month.”

Minato shivered. There was a draft from the broken door. “Of course,” he said as formally as he could. “I will be pleased to instruct you for as long as you wish to learn from me. Jiraiya-sensei, we may need Gerotora.”

“Oh ho! That’s all up to you of course,” the sage said, opening his mouth wide and allowing the big toad to crawl out of his throat. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably, but he didn’t actually say anything rude to or about Gerotora, so Minato took the victory as he found it.

“Welcome back, Hokage of the Hidden Leaves,” the long toad said formally. 

“Thank you, Gerotora. I appreciate all that you have done so far and ask that you return to me that I might safeguard what you hold in Lord Jiraiya’s stead.” 

The toad bowed deeply and leapt into Minato’s mouth. He swallowed it down, feeling better about the security of Naruto’s seal. Jiraiya-sensei would, of course, still be able to affect it. Once given the key to an eight-trigram seal a shinobi could always use it, but the Toad Sage could be trusted. The only question was when Minato would entrust Naruto with that same power. 

“Great! That’s all settled, then,” Jiraiya-sensei said, pouncing from the lawn to the top of the wall. “See you when I get back!” Thus, without even a proper goodbye, the old sage left Minato alone with his son. 

"Naruto," he began hesitantly, "I respect and understand your desire to maintain our relationship as a student and teacher, but I hope that you will bear in mind that I do owe you a certain debt as your father. Should you ever require anything further of me, please know that it is on offer." 

Naruto nodded, but didn't say anything for a long minute. Minato wondered if he should suggest that they resume training, or if that sounded too much like a dismissal. Finally, the boy spoke.

"Maybe, if you don't mind too much, you could tell me a little bit about your wife. I mean, she was my mother, wasn't she?"

The warmth of the afternoon sun found Minato then, and he sat down on the porch and gestured for Naruto to join him. Even if the boy was only a little curious, this at least was something they could share. 

"Tell you about your mother, eh? No, I don't mind at all. I could talk about Kushina for hours. When we were at the Academy together, my friends used to constantly ask me to stop. What would you like to know? Why she was chosen to be a jinchuriki? How she used the Uzumaki advantages to inform her fighting style?"

"Just. What was she like?"

"Kushina? She was—spirited is perhaps the best term. They called her the 'Red Hot Habanera' at the Academy because she would beat anyone who made fun of her red hair into the ground. She wasn't from this village, so bullies thought she was an easy target. And then, even when they knew she wasn't, they would all come back for more. Of course, she hated me. She used to say I looked girly and unreliable, but I liked her anyway. She was so full of life.” 

“So how did you win her over? Did you make those other guys stop bullying her?” 

“Not at all. Kushina could take care of herself. She was already beating up genin in her academy days. No, she started to like me when,” Minato paused, feeling emotion welling in his throat. He knew that he needed to push past it, to give Naruto what he had asked for and prove that he could be of some use in the role of a father. That didn’t stop the first tear from falling. “Excuse me,” Minato said, teleporting to the bathroom to attempt to regain some control. 

When he finally emerged, Naruto was practicing his kata diligently in the garden with no sign that the question had even been asked. Minato returned to his work repairing the broken door and they continued that way without speaking. 

Minato had never in his life been as grateful for an interruption as he was when Pakkun returned just in time for supper. He didn't know what he had been dreading more, Naruto refusing to stay or sharing the meal with the same uncomfortable silence between them. Thankfully, the dog's presence presented a third option. 

"I assume you were checking in with your master?"

"What else?"

"How is his mission going, if you can tell us anything, that is?" 

"Nothing to worry about, it's a simple B rank. He's just rousting some bandits along the border; there are about thirty of them, but it doesn't seem like any of them can use ninjustu at all. He's being cautious, but he should be home as promised sometime tomorrow night." 

"That's a relief." 

As predicted, Naruto barely spoke at all except to compliment the meal and even that was incredibly subdued for him. Minato didn't know how to draw him out, so he kept a light conversation going with Pakkun about the details of Kakashi's mission and hoped the boy might eventually come around. He didn't, but when he left he did confirm that he would be returning the following morning.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning was much the same, worse perhaps, because after the nightmares about freezing—interrupted though they were by Pakkun’s kindness—feeling that same coldness emanating from his son was nearly as torturous. Yet despite the chill, Minato also felt a warm flush of pride that the boy would continue to train so diligently despite his obvious discomfort. Naruto was improving, too. It was obvious that his training was causing him to meditate deeply. When they broke for lunch, he was even willing to make conversation, albeit conversation about how lacking Minato was as a Master.

"The Pervy Sage is always really nice to me, you know."

"He's a very good man."

"Yeah. This one time he had one of those popsicles—the kind that's really two popsicles stuck together—and he broke it in half and gave me one."

Minato did not really need to be reminded of how little kindness his son had been shown in his young life. "That was the only time you've had a sweet you didn't buy for yourself, wasn't it?"

"Well yeah. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are always trying to make me eat healthy things. Pervy Sage doesn't care about stuff like that, though. So, you know, don't throw him through the wall again, okay? Because he's really nice."

“Right,” Minato said, rising to his feet. “Please come with me.”

Naruto hesitated.

“You must be done eating, we finished all of the kabobs and the recipe is intended to serve four.”

“No, I mean, I am. I mean, thank you for the food,” Naruto said, getting up hastily. “Where are we going? Do you want me to clean up the kitchen first?”

“There is something I must do,” Minato said. “I can worry about the dishes later.” 

Naruto followed his father silently from the compound and into the center of the village. Minato knew that he should say something to dispel the tension, but he had absolutely no notion of how to do so. If Naruto refused his plan, he thought he might start crying again or lose control in some other even more embarrassing way. Instead, he simply continued on, leading the boy to the small stand across from the dango restaurant that sold ice cream confections. 

“Do you have a preference?” he asked very seriously.

Naruto blinked. “For what?”

Minato nodded patiently toward the pictures of various available treats. 

“Um, ice cream? Not really. I don’t get it. Why are we here?”

Minato ordered a cone with five different scoops of ice cream piled on top of it partly because it looked so extravagant in the picture and partly because it was the most expensive item on the menu. He hoped Naruto wouldn’t make himself sick eating it, but he recognized that the boy actually eating the treat was relatively immaterial. 

“Ah, thanks,” the boy said uncertainly, taking a hesitant bite. 

It was completely foolish and pointlessly emotional, but Minato felt some part of the frozen knot within him unwind a little at seeing Naruto eat the probably unwanted ice cream. Undeniably his son had had a difficult life up to this point, but Minato was here and he would begin to make up for his absence. He would, of course, begin to do so in ways that made sense and might actually be of use to his son as soon as he determined what those were. 

Out of nowhere, one of the chairs from the dango restaurant’s outdoor tables came flying across the street and struck Naruto in the legs. Minato watched as time seemed to slow and the boy tripped, dropping the ice cream all over the front of his jacket. He had no idea how he had failed to sense such an attack. 

“Why you—“ Naruto growled, shoving himself up and glaring at the chunin Hyuga who had clearly caused the accident. 

“My apologies,” the chunin laughed insincerely. He was lounging with a small group of other shinobi, all of whom were smiling. “I know that someone who thinks as highly of himself as you do must suffer greatly from such fox-like clumsiness.”

“That’s fine,” said Naruto, his hands were clenched tightly into fists, but he suddenly looked more worried than angry. “I accept your apology.” Turning to Minato he added, “I don’t get into fights over stuff like this, usually. I mean a shinobi has to be smart and pick his battles, right? And only use his power for important things. That’s what I do. I’m good about things like that.”

“That is very good,” Minato agreed. “You are indeed very wise not to allow small matters like this one to annoy you. I want you to know that I respect your choice and believe in your ability to fight your own battles. Please know that while my own feelings are overpowering, I wish to allow you your own discretion in things of this nature. Do you understand me?” 

Naruto nodded very seriously. Minato thought he looked pleased, though he knew he wouldn’t be in a moment. 

Minato threw a kunai at the Hyuga’s face. The chunin dodged because the inexperienced always did. As the knife passed alongside the man’s head, Minato teleported to it grabbing the man and holding a second kunai directly over the base of his spine. 

“I believe your apology was insincere.”

The Hyuga called Minato’s bluff. Of course a shinobi wearing a Leaf forehead protector would not kill a fellow of the same village over something as trivial as spilled ice cream, but Minato found that today he was quite willing to strike such a comrade. The chunin twisted away from Minato’s hold and activated his Byakugan. Feeling that he had provided warning enough, Minato broke both of the man’s arms and his left leg. The others who had been sitting around the table laughing stared for a moment in complete astonishment before leaping as a group to attack the one who had injured their friend. Minato felt justified in opening his scrolls to scatter his custom kunai all over the street. Things happened very quickly after that. 

Minato tried to limit himself to only breaking a few bones of each attacker. He even rendered a great many of them unconscious with nerve strikes or a chokehold that would do no permanent damage. He did not forget that these shinobi were of the Leaf Village, and he did not forget that these shinobi of the Leaf Village had been very cruel to his son. 

Another Hyuga appeared at the end of the street stopping at the very edge of Minato’s scattered kunai. Minato would hardly have noticed him except that he was the only conscious person not groaning in pain other than Naruto and Minato himself left in the street, and he had _thrown a stone at Naruto._ Minato intercepted it easily, but he could not forgive a second attack on his son by the same clan as easily as he had forgiven the first. 

“Either way, it isn’t a genjutsu,” the Hyuga shouted—presumably to unseen companions. Minato decided on caution and took a moment to throw a few more kunai into the Hyuga’s vicinity. The boy spun in a deflecting rotation that kept any from landing within a few feet of him, proving how very necessary the action had been. The Gentle Fist wasn’t something to be careless about, and the boy was clearly intelligent, experienced, and not alone. “Lee, with me. Tenten, rescue Naruto no matter what.”

Minato froze. Why did Naruto need rescuing? As if in answer, Naruto grabbed Minato’s arm.

“Dad, that’s Neji. Don’t beat him up or anything, okay? He’s not a bad guy.”

“He thinks you need to be rescued,” Minato said slowly.

“Yeah, what’s that about, Neji?”

The Hyuga came forward cautiously. “Naruto,” he said, “Who is this person and why aren’t you fighting him? You’re always the first to attack a threat.”

“He’s my dad!” the boy said happily. “I have a dad now! Did you see all those guys he beat up? He’s pretty strong, right?”

“Ah, yes, he is very strong. And you do look very much alike. The family resemblance is unmistakable. You should make sure you’ve registered with the Hokage’s Office and you’re listed as relatives. I know for a fact that you’re still an orphan on all of your paperwork, Naruto. You aren’t really a family until you’ve changed your official status.”

The ploy was both rushed and obvious, but Minato also wasn’t surprised when Naruto fell for it immediately. 

“I didn’t know that! Thanks, Neji! Dad, can we go there? Old Lady Tsunade can probably do it for us really quickly!”

Minato couldn’t focus. “You thought you were rescuing Naruto,” he repeated. 

“Clearly, I was mistaken and that is unnecessary,” the Hyuga—Neji—said evenly. “You know, Naruto, Ms. Shizune could get that paperwork started for you even without your father present. Why don’t you go with Lee and Tenten now and your father and I can join you in a few minutes?” 

A boy who couldn’t possibly be Guy because Guy had to be Kakashi’s age leapt to the Hyuga’s side accompanied by a pretty girl wearing her hair in two buns. 

“Come on, Naruto,” the boy in green said earnestly. “Let’s go see Sakura!” 

Naruto looked even more excited. “Yeah! She’s working for the Old Lady now, isn’t she! You should meet her, Dad.”

At least ten of the incapacitated shinobi lying in the street were wearing ANBU masks and uniforms. Minato had been aware enough during the fight to render them unconscious rather than simply breaking bones. Now he was aware enough to know that they had not attacked him in defense of a man’s right to spill a boy’s ice cream. 

“Stay here with me, Naruto,” Minato said slowly. 

“But I want to go make them change our paperwork, Dad!”

“That isn’t actually something,” Minato shook his head. It was far too late to beat around the bush. “I need you to stay here with me, Naruto. You need to stop me from attacking anyone else.”

“But it was so cool! Lee, you should have seen it! This guy made me spill my ice cream and my dad threw a knife at him and then teleported behind him and was like, ‘I believe your apology was insincere.’ It was awesome!” 

“Just until Kakashi comes back,” Minato said. “He’ll know what to do.”

“Uh, Dad? Kakashi-sensei isn’t going to be back until later tonight, you know.”

“Yes. Perhaps Pakkun would be kind enough to ask him to hurry.”

“We left Pakkun at the house, remember? He was taking a nap. Are you okay, Dad? You’re shaking.”

“Lee, we need backup,” the Hyuga said.

“It’s already here,” the boy in green replied. Lady Tsunade was walking casually up the street; Minato was extremely relieved to see her.


	11. Chapter 11

“Well, at least we know you’re physically fit,” the Hokage said by way of a greeting. A small gust of wind played with her blond pigtails and puffed up her green jacket when she stopped to stand directly in front of Minato. She seemed perfectly in control, everything Minato didn’t feel. 

“Yes, thank you Lady Tsunade.”

“Lady Hokage,” said Neji Hyuga, “Naruto is convinced that this man is his father.”

“Jiraiya said you’d told him,” the Hokage said, still speaking directly to Minato. “He seemed to think that tossing him through a wall would be enough to vent your anger.”

“I am not reacting well,” he admitted. “To anything.”

“That’s understandable in your situation.” She seemed so calm. Minato didn’t remember Tsunade-sensei ever being this calm. “Why don’t we take a walk and talk about things?” 

Minato hesitated. “I attacked Jiraiya-sensei.”

“Yes, I know. He told me.”

“I’m a danger to you. I think I’m a danger to anyone but Kakashi and Naruto. It might be best if I wait here until Kakashi returns. He can—he was able to keep me from hurting the teacher. You shouldn’t have sent him away.”

Lady Tsunade’s eyebrow twitched. Suddenly, he could tell that she was in fact frustrated. She wanted to knock him into the next street, but if she did that he might fight back. Neither of them wanted a drag down Hokage battle royal. 

“And I’m much more of a danger standing in this street, covered as it is with my kunai, where I’m also preventing the Medical Ninja from assisting those who fought against me. Please forgive me, Lady Hokage,” he said, taking Naruto by the hand and walking briskly toward the end of the street. “As I said, I’ve been feeling very confused today.”

“Yes, well, I left the village, quit medicine, and tried to support myself and Shizune with an unlucky gambling habit for years after my own trauma. I’m in no position to judge,” she said, seeming more like herself. At the end of the street she turned and signaled the squad of medical ninja to see to the wounded. Then she ordered the genin team—Lee, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten—to pick up Minato’s kunai and reseal them in his scrolls. “Still, you did attack and violently disable a large number of your own comrades.”

“It wasn’t his fault you know!” Naruto said, squeezing Minato’s hand. “Some guy threw a chair at me just cause I beat Neji in the Chunin Exam that one time! Of course my dad got mad about that! He’s my dad, you know!”

“Naruto, please don’t interrupt the Hokage that way. I have acted aggressively toward the village and could very well be a danger again. Lady Hokage, if it is your wish to lock me away for a time, I shall willingly comply.” 

“Not at all,” the Hokage said before Naruto could voice his objection. “You just need a little time to put the last thirteen years into perspective. Luckily for you, I happen to be short so many ninja that I can’t be picky about who gets what. There is a B-rank mission that needs to be assigned today: escorting an emissary of the Daimyo to the Land of Lightning for a conference of nobles and bringing the company home safely. I don’t anticipate trouble, but these trade negotiations will have a massive affect on the tariffs and flow of goods between the two nations. Should everything proceed as scheduled, you would be away from the village for two months or so. Would you and Naruto like the mission?”

“B-rank!” Naruto threw a fist into the air excitedly. “I never get to go on B-rank missions! I mean,” he continued hastily, looking at Minato, “I’ve fought all kinds of A and B rank ninja like Kabuto and Gaara and Haku and Zabuza and—“ 

“Naruto! Put a sock in it!” the Hokage interrupted. “Your father needs to think about his recovery, not padding your resume.”

Actually, Minato thought it was a good idea. Time away from the village might allow Naruto to come to know his father without Minato being constantly confronted by his own troubles. "We'll take the mission."

"Good, you can leave at once." 

"Can’t we wait for—never mind—please tell Kakashi that if he isn't unpacked by the time we get back he'll be doing all the housework for a month." 

Lady Tsunade smiled warmly and agreed, gesturing for the waiting Genin team to come forward. Lee—the boy in green—flipped up to offer Minato his scrolls with a formal bow. His teammates held back a few paces; it was the perfect distance for the long-range weapon user, but the Hyuga had to be chaffing. 

"Is there any chance you know Mighty Guy?" 

The boy looked surprised, as though anyone who saw him might not make that connection. "Yes, Guy-sensei is my teacher."

"Could I impose upon you for a favor, then?"

Lee nodded cautiously. 

"Please tell Guy that while I think he could win a swimming competition against Kakashi, they should avoid Lake Unagi. Giant eels might provide an additional challenge, but they are much too dangerous." Predictably, the boy was enough like Guy that his eyes lit up and he agreed at once to deliver the message. 

Kakashi would worry while Minato was away no matter what. Minato was pretty worried about himself, but hopefully the nature of his goodbyes would be enough to reassure his friend somewhat. 

“Is there anyone you should say goodbye to before such a long mission?” Minato asked Naruto, “That teacher, perhaps, or your friend Sasuke?”

“Sasuke?” repeated Lee, sounding surprised.

“Ah, no, no one,” blustered Naruto, blushing bright red. 

“Equipment, then?”

Naruto ran back to his apartment to get his backpack while Minato accompanied Lady Tsunade to the Hokage's office to get the mission scroll. While he waited at the village gate, he made a shadow clone of his own, and sent it to clean up the kitchen carrying a third goodbye to Kakashi through Pakkun. The dog expressed a wish to accompany Minato on his mission, but the former Hokage knew that a summoning animal staying away from his home territory that long would be bad for everyone involved. Three days was more than long enough. 

Ideally, Minato would have liked to wait for Kakashi’s opinion before leaving. The fighting had left him cold, and he hadn’t been really warm since the last time he’d seen his friend. Unfortunately, this was a priority mission for the Daimyo himself, Lady Tsunade had intended to assign it elsewhere, but it was Minato’s now and they needed to leave at once.


	12. Chapter 12

Apparently Naruto had never been to the capital of the Land of Fire before. He was impressed by everything: the number of people, the size of the buildings, and most of all by the splendor of the palace. 

“If you want, we can come another time to tour the palace. The daimyo would allow it; he is a good man.” 

“Not today?”

“I’m sorry, but our directive indicates that the ambassador plenipotentiary intended to leave at first light. We should not have made camp for as long as we did last night.”

“Um?”

“The mission scroll says that the man we are supposed to guard wanted to leave the capital at dawn. We should hurry to meet him.” 

“Right! Don’t worry, Dad, I’m totally pumped about this mission! I don’t wanna tour some stuffy old house anyway!” 

The man they were supposed to guard was, in fact, a woman. She was perfectly gracious about their late arrival and allowed them to fall into place alongside her carriage with the rest of her entourage after only a minimal introduction. Everything was arranged as well as any of the hundreds of escort missions Minato had successfully completed in his time; everything was horrible. 

Minato felt mortified to have made an assumption. Naruto was the only witness and unlikely to make the connection, but that only made it worse. The assumption itself was almost understandable: Yuki was a name that could go either way, the mission scroll only referred to the ambassador by title with no gender indicators, and delegates to such meetings were more often men than women. An understandable mistake, except that assumptions were often deadly for ninja. It was even worse than the claustrophobic impulse to maintain some distance with Naruto, because this he didn’t understand. Determined as he was not to be a danger to the mission, it was obvious that he was one.

Thankfully, the mission was the embodiment of routine. Ambassador Yuki Tanaka was intelligent and professional. She listened to Minato’s advice regarding their route and the placement of guards at night, following his instructions completely. Moreover, she understood and agreed with stationing the two shinobi outside of the camp in the evenings. Naruto might not have been a genius, but he could sleep in a tree—or whatever removed vantage point the terrain allowed—and keep watch as well as any other young ninja. With these simple precautions the minor threats the company encountered were handled well before most of the entourage became aware of them. The ambassador never even approached danger. 

Perching in trees at night also gave Minato and Naruto a chance to talk. Naruto was just as enthusiastically eager to please as Kakashi had predicted he would be. Even so, they circled each other slowly like newly acquainted dogs. Minato knew that was his own fault. Naruto had hundreds of questions about his father’s life, tenure as Hokage, and jutsu. The boy raptly devoured any tidbit about his mother, but he never ever asked about her. Minato didn’t know how to explain that it was her absence that was difficult and not Naruto’s questions, so he said nothing. For his own part, Minato was happy to hear stories of Naruto’s own triumphs, littered though they were with fragments that the boy didn’t remember or clearly hadn’t understood at the time. 

It was late in the second week of their slow journey that Naruto finally pushed Minato’s reticence aside and closed the rest of the distance. Earlier in the day, Minato had been forced to intercept a group of rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. They had been powerful, with more than one jonin in the band, and Minato had experienced some slight difficulty in disabling all of them without killing anyone. Naruto had been extremely helpful during the fight while the ordinary guards protected the delegate. After everyone had been subdued Ambassador Yuki agreed that returning the rogues instead of taking more decisive action would be an advantage to her trade negotiations, but the slower pace of traveling with prisoners mean they wouldn’t be arriving the next morning as planned. Still, arriving a day late with political leverage was determined to be the better position. That night, hidden among rocks with a good view of the camp and their prisoners, Naruto decided he was in a pretty good position as well.

“Hey dad, you’re a really strong shinobi, aren’t you?”

“I manage.” 

“Could you beat the Pervy Sage?”

“Maybe. In a serious fight, it would depend on why we were fighting. His toads are all friends of mine, so I’d like my chances a lot if they didn’t take sides. If they were upset with me—if he had his Sage Mode and all of his strongest advantages—maybe. It would be an interesting match.” 

“What about the Old Man?”

“In his heyday? I’m not sure. But I could have when he retired, that’s why he chose me to be Hokage. He believed that I could protect the village as well as he could.” 

“Old Lady Tsunade?”

“I don’t know. I’m hard to hit and she can take an almost unlimited amount of damage thanks to her medical ninjutsu. That would be another interesting fight. I like Gamabunta’s chances against Katsuyu—she’s more useful for things other than direct battle—and if I had an advantage of terrain I think I’d do well. Still, she’s incredibly strong. I couldn’t take more than a hit or two.”

Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Is that it for tonight? Don’t you have any other imaginary fights for me? Want to know how I would do against the Raikage? I’ve actually fought him and it isn’t a bad story.” 

“Could you beat Orochimaru?” He sounded strangely serious for a nonsense discussion about imaginary battles. 

“When I became Hokage absolutely. Lord Hiruzen chose me for moral reasons, I know, but I honestly believe that he’s a ninja I could defeat with straight speed. Unlike Lady Tsunade with her Uzumaki heritage and Jiraiya-sensei with his Sage Chakra, Orochimaru’s fighting style always depended on striking fast from the shadows with poisons and pain, but no one hits faster than me. Still, he’s probably developed a lot in the last thirteen years. Lady Tsunade mentioned something about him returning to Leaf Village and defeating the Third Hokage with forbidden techniques like resurrection jutsu. I don’t know what fighting him now would be like.” 

“Would you?”

“Would I what?”

“Would you fight Orochimaru? With me? I’m going to beat him up.” The proclamation wasn’t anywhere near as exuberant as Minato might have expected from his son’s usual bragging. In fact, the whole discussion suddenly felt very grave. 

“As he is a rogue ninja from Leaf Village, it is my duty to apprehend him if I encounter him, but you sound like you’re planning to seek him out.” 

“Not him, but I’ll probably have to fight him. He has my friend. He has Sasuke.” 

“What do you mean, when you say he ‘has’ him?”

“That’s how he stays alive. Orochimaru, I mean. He steals other people’s bodies. The Pervy Sage says he can’t do it all the time and he has to wait three years before he takes Sasuke’s, but he’s got Sasuke now. He wants the Sharingan, you know.” 

“How long ago did he capture your friend?”

“Just a couple of months ago, but, ah, Sasuke wasn’t captured. He, ah, sort of went with those guys willingly, you know.”

“Willingly?”

“He wants to be stronger, you know. He wants revenge on his brother.”

“Maybe you should tell me the whole story.”

“I don’t know. Sasuke’s brother killed everyone in his family when we first started at the academy, so Sasuke wants to kill him. But when Itachi came to capture me because he’s one of those Akatsuki guys now, Sasuke fought him and didn’t do very well. He got pretty mad about it. I guess he felt like he wasn’t getting strong with his friends, and he needed to be alone to be strong. I dunno. Orochimaru gave him a curse mark or something that let him turn into a monster and fly and stuff. We, ah, I fought him to try to keep him from going, but he won. But he didn’t kill me, you know! And he could have, so I know he’s still my friend. He’s just—he’s really angry right now.”

“Itachi killed everyone in the Uchiha clan?”

“Uh, yeah. He and Sasuke are the only ones left.” 

Minato knew that that wasn’t true—the masked Uchiha from the Akatsuki was too old to be Itachi—but he didn’t need to go into that with Naruto now. 

“So it isn’t just a matter of stealing a prisoner from Orochimaru. We’ll have to either win the boy over or take the snake out of the equation entirely. It won’t be easy. Just finding him is going to be a challenge.” 

Naruto jerked forward. His eyes were so bright. “You mean you’ll help me?”

“Of course I’ll help you, Naruto. I’m your father.” 

“Old Lady Tsunade said—after we couldn’t find Shino’s bug—she said we had to stop looking for Sasuke because he left by choice.” 

“I’ll speak to her. Your friend is clearly in real danger. We’ll rescue him together.” 

Naruto threw himself at Minato—an impressive feat when they were sitting in such a rocky outcropping—and wrapped his arms around his father. Minato let his own hands gingerly press against the boy’s back. He felt warmer than he had in years.

“Did you really beat the Raikage?” Naruto asked a few moments later, pulling away.


	13. Chapter 13

Minato was right. The rogue ninja prisoners bought Ambassador Yuki a lot of good will during the trade negotiations. Minato was right, but he didn’t witness it. Normally, shinobi assigned to a mission like theirs spent time spying on the deliberations looking for ways to aid their own delegation or news that the Hokage might want and the daimyo might not share, but Naruto didn’t have the patience for it. Frankly, Minato wasn’t sure the boy had the temperament for any kind of spy work; he was too much like Jiraiya-sensei. 

Instead of listening in on the negotiations, Naruto and his father toured the capital. While there was no chance of a palace tour in the Land of Lightning, the shinobi had a certain amount of free time while the Ambassador was in closed door talks guarded by any number of Cloud ninja. They tasted the local cuisine, listened to a little enka, and experimented with sightseeing. Attempting the palace would have been cause for an international incident, but there were plenty of other closed locations for Naruto to practice his silent entering. Once again, Naruto impressed Minato with how diligently he worked until he learned a skill. 

The business with the snapping turtles and his pants was simply part of the learning curve.

On the whole their time in the Land of Lighting was very well spent. Ambassador Yuki came away with a very favorable trade agreement and Minato now had a way to be of material use to his son. Best of all, in a training session one night during the first week of their journey back to the Land of Fire, Naruto successfully entered a state of deep meditation and contacted the Nine Tails. 

He was shaken by the experience, of course. Any child would have been. The Demon Fox had so much hate. 

“He said you were only pretending to like me, that you just want to use me to keep him contained. He said you used my mom the same way.” 

“I hope you told him how wrong he was. After all, I was only a genin myself when your mother received Kurama from Mito Uzumaki; I didn’t even know about it.”

“Uh, no, I didn’t really, um, put that together.” 

The night wind was really very cold. Minato needed to look into a coat to wear over his flack jacket. 

“You believed him, then?”

“Come on, Dad, of course not! I told him you liked me because you’re my Dad! And I told him what a good cook you are and how you always get upset if you think someone’s being mean to me. But then he said—“ 

Obviously this was what had upset Naruto so badly. Minato waited patiently for him to continue.

“He said you couldn’t beat Orochimaru. He said you’ll die and we won’t save Sasuke. He said the only reason I didn’t die when I fought Sasuke last time was because he took over my body at the end and Sasuke would have killed me if he hadn’t. He said. He’s not a very nice guy, you know.” 

“I know. But people like him also aren’t truthful as a rule, either. If he had really defeated Sasuke when he took over your body, he would have killed your friend. He might not be the mindless beast most of the village sees him as, but he hates the Uchiha clan almost as much as he hates the Uzumaki. Your friend Sasuke would not have survived by his mercy.” 

Naruto blinked. “So you do think Sasuke had a chance to kill me and didn’t take it?” 

“I know it.” 

Even in the darkness, Naruto’s grin was like the summer sun. 

That warm smile—and the success of the mission—carried Minato happily back to Leaf Village, having returned the ambassador’s entourage to the capital safely. He was absolutely ready to recognize Lady Tsunade for the legendary genius that she was. The trip had been exactly what the former Hokage needed to calm his temper and bond with his son. Sure, he still dreamed of ice and pain whenever he slept for more than a few moments, but those feelings were always banished by the daylight. The world seemed kind again. 

To further bolster Minato’s mood, Kakashi was waiting for their return at the village gate. Well, being Kakashi, he was reading a novel on a tree branch just inside the village gate, unnoticed by the chunin on duty. 

“Come to greet us?” Minato asked, after exchanging the usual pleasantries with the guards. 

“Oh, are you back today?” the jonin asked, casually hopping down from the tree. 

“Kakashi-sensei! What were you doing up there?”

“Reading.” 

“We should report in,” Minato said. He had an inexplicable urge to hug Kakashi, shake his hand, or make some other completely unnecessary physical gesture. Naturally, he refrained. The mission hadn’t been _that_ long. 

“Ma, as team leader you can do that alone, can’t you? Naruto needs to get his things together.”

“My things?”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened and he looked hurt, but there was something disingenuous about it. “Oh. That’s fine. I mean, I don’t get lonely when I’m by myself. I’m not that kind of person. I wasn’t excited about you moving in or anything.” 

“Moving in? To your house?” Naruto’s head whipped back and forth between Minato and Kakashi. “Dad?” 

“Ah, yes. I neglected to mention that Kakashi had extended the offer, but I am generally in favor of the idea.” 

Naruto was practically vibrating. 

“Today? We’ll live together even when we’re not on a mission or anything! This is going to be great, you know!” 

“I think Lee’s around if you need help moving anything,” Kakashi said cheerfully. “Take whichever bedroom you like!” 

Naruto didn’t need more of an answer than that; he sprinted away leaving a trail of dust in his wake. 

“You shouldn’t manipulate him like that,” Minato said. “It wasn’t necessary.” 

“Sure thing, Sensei. I’ll never ever do it again.” 

“Of course not. I thought you might have reconsidered having the two of us to stay while we were gone.”

“Nope!” 

“Kakashi! I’m serious. Don’t you think you’ll want to start your own family soon?”

“You are my family.” At last he seemed to be giving the conversation the attention it deserved.

“And I appreciate that, I really do, but you don’t need to take care of me anymore. I’m under control again, I promise.” 

“Great! I still want you to stay with me.” 

“Look, I know it’s a big house, but when you actually settle down it’s going to seem a lot smaller. Your wife isn’t going to be thrilled about having another family living with you. Trust me, I’ve had a wife.” 

“That’s not—you don’t have to worry about that, okay?” 

“I’m not worried about it, Kakashi, I’d be overjoyed to see it. I don’t want to be in the _way_ of it.” 

“Just—give your report.” 

Minato had momentarily forgotten that the office they were standing outside of wasn’t his own. He knew a dismissal when he heard one and didn’t expect that Kakashi would wait for him to finish. When Lady Tsunade decided to discuss his mission and recovery at length before releasing him, he knew it was a lost cause. 

Physically, he had no injuries remaining from his time in the Reaper, his completed mission, or the temper tantrum that prompted it, but Tsunade insisted on checking him over anyway. Then she demanded an honest update regarding his emotional state. Eventually his protestations of complete recovery gave way to a confession about his nighttime difficulties. She recommended a tea to help with his nightmares, but believed that the chill he experienced was psychosomatic. Finally he was able to argue that if anxiety was his problem then what he really needed was to continue his conversation with his friend. Unfortunately, he couldn’t believe that it would happen in the corridor outside the Hokage’s office. Yet again, Minato was proven correct. 

Upon leaving the Hokage’s residence, Minato began walking to the Hatake Compound. If nothing else, that was where he would most likely find Naruto. The boy would probably have all of his earthly possessions with him; Minato wasn’t quite sure what he ought to do about that. Luckily, Kakashi signaled him from the roof of a nearby shop before sprinting away. Apparently they would be having the conversation right away, but in private. A relieved Minato couldn’t find fault with that. 

After racing through the town and a good deal of forest, they stopped in a secluded clearing. 

“Fine,” Kakashi began. “So, fine. We’re going to talk about my feelings. Great.” 

“We really don’t have to.” 

“But you’ll be keeping one foot out the door while you’re living with me unless we do. That’s fine. It doesn’t need to be a long talk. Just—I decided a long time ago that I would never marry.” 

“I’m sure that you will meet someone who makes you—“ 

“No. I won’t. Look, I—there was someone, once.” Kakashi made a small, frustrated noise. “Do you suppose _you’ll_ marry any time soon, Minato?” 

Minato froze. 

“I see. I’m very sorry for your loss. Were you—clearly you don’t want to tell me about it.” 

Kakashi looked away for a very long time. Minato was surprised when he spoke again. 

“I shouldn’t have compared what I felt to your love with Kushina. The person I loved—he loved someone else, and then he died. Still, it was a while ago, and I haven’t loved again.” 

Not Obito. Minato had watched the young Uchiha pine for Rin—who only had eyes for Kakashi—for years. It would have been nice to think that Minato was observant enough not to have missed the hypotenuse of that love triangle. Still, the complete personality shift in Kakashi after Obito’s death bespoke incredibly deep feelings. It was possible; however, it had all happened so long ago. 

“Well, you know your own feelings best, of course, but you are denying yourself one of the great joys of life. To be loved in return—to have a relationship—can be one of the most fulfilling things a person can do.” 

“Don’t worry about that! I’ve had plenty of sex!” 

Minato found that he was suddenly having some difficulty breathing, let alone replying, with the coughing fit that he seemed to be having. 

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, buddy, but you don’t actually need to get married for that.”

“That wasn’t what I was referring to, Kakashi! I mean an emotional connection! Being in love!”

“Well I did have sex with Guy once. He’s probably my best friend. Is that enough of a connection for you?”

The noise Minato made may not have been entirely human. 

“Yeah, it was weird because he is, all evidence to the contrary, completely straight. Still, we end up challenging each other to the weirdest things sometimes. For the record, I won that one, but then I’ve had considerably more practice than he has.” 

“Please don’t tell me.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s anyone else who would surprise you. Mostly, I just sleep with prostitutes outside of the village. There’ve been a few other ninja—ANBU mostly while I was still inside—Anko once, never again; Kurenai once, never tell Asuma; and a spy from Lock Village, but that was practically a mission.”

“Please stop. I’ll do anything, just stop making me think about this.” 

Kakashi grinned smugly. 

“You know what I want, Minato.” 

Minato felt himself smiling in response. 

“I really don’t remember you being this manipulative.”

“I grew up.”

“We’d better get home before Naruto decides to start dinner for us.”

This time Kakashi’s smile was heartfelt. He seemed truly happy, and Minato felt unworthy for starting the argument in the first place.


	14. Chapter 14

Lady Tsunade’s tea was a godsend. For the first time since his return, Minato woke feeling warm and comfortable. He didn’t remember his dreams at all, and he took a moment to burrow a little more deeply in his blankets, taking stock. Something was very different, but it took him a long moment to place what. He was aroused. 

Minato didn’t remember whatever dream had caused the state, but he did remember a hundred mornings just like this one with his wife. He would wake up this way and—well, to be honest she would usually grumble adorably and keep sleeping. She would say “Yes, dear,” or “Five minutes” and then roll away to sleep for another hour at least. But every so often—every fourth morning or so—she would smile lazily and say, “I love you.” Then, instead of away, she would roll onto her back and pull him into her arms. Those mornings were always, always perfect. 

As Minato sped his pace, for some reason his conversation with Kakashi from the previous evening came to mind carrying with it an unfortunate image of his former student embracing his rival. He tried to refocus; it was a betrayal of the worst kind to think of his unwitting friend at such a time. It was doubly wrong to follow the thought and wonder what their competition had been, but Minato couldn’t seem to force the question out of his head. He wondered what Kakashi had done to win. Desperately, he tried to bring back the memories of his wife. His success was limited; then the point was moot. 

Kakashi was already in the kitchen with Naruto when Minato left his bedroom. Years of training as an elite shinobi kept Minato from blushing. No matter how intuitive Kakashi was, he couldn’t actually read Minato’s thoughts. 

“Dad! Did you sleep okay? Did the tea help?”

“Yes, thank you. No bad dreams at all.”

Kakashi smirked a little, as though he knew exactly the sort of morning Minato _had_ had. The bastard could probably smell it, despite Minato’s cleanup efforts. 

“What’s the plan for today?” he asked innocently.

“I actually wanted to discuss that with both of you. The next step in Naruto’s training involves us going to the site where the Village Hidden In Eddies used to be. That region has certain geological formations to ease our progress. On the other hand, I believe sooner would be better than later to begin our rescue of Sasuke. Even if Orochimaru isn’t planning to take over his body for a few years, leaving a boy with that sort of teacher could do other, less visible harm. In this area I am woefully behind. I would like to research the situation fully in the village records to catch up before we move in that direction.” 

“Sasuke?” Kakashi stared. “You’re planning to go after Sasuke?”

“Dad’s going to help me rescue him!”

“Orochimaru’s become more monster than man these days. He’s incredibly powerful.”

“And you feel letting him become even stronger is the best strategy in this situation?”

“What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei? We’re going to rescue Sasuke, you know!” 

“If you say so, Naruto.”

“Do you really believe it’s impossible?” asked Minato, pressing a hand onto Naruto’s arm to still the boy. Kakashi’s judgment wasn’t something to dismiss. 

“No,” he said after a long moment. “I suppose one miracle could beget another.” 

For the second time that morning, Minato fought the urge to blush. 

“Well. So, what do you think? Should work on strengthening Naruto first, or pursue your lost student?”

“Sasuke! We have to go after Sasuke right away!” 

“Why not do both? Obviously I can’t continue his jinchuriki training, but I’m sure I can come up with something useful to teach Naruto while you get yourself up to speed.” 

Minato smiled. 

“What am I going to do when you get tired of making things easier for me?” 

“Keep my grave clean and burn incense for me; don’t forget Obito and Rin, either.” 

The barriers around the records room at the Hokage’s mansion still recognized Minato and granted him access. At one time, this had been his favorite room in the residence; it was gratifying to feel the old archive return some of that affection. Many people had access to most of the reports locate in the hall, but Minato didn’t have time for the public version of events. Feeling as though he was abusing his former position somewhat, he opened the hidden wall panel behind the seventh shelf on the western most end of the chamber. Though he was no longer the Hokage, the barrier parted easily for him and he took the Third Hokage’s personal journal out, pausing for a moment to touch his own well-kept memoir. Since the journal would not have evidence of the Leaf Village’s most recent encounters with Orochimaru, he also gathered all of the high level reports regarding the legendary ninja’s attack on the village during Naruto’s chunin exam. 

Minato knew himself well enough to understand that once he opened Hiruzen's journal he wouldn't be researching the matter at hand, so he began with the assorted reports dealing with Orochimaru's attack on the village. The documents were well organized and impersonal, detailing the jutsu used and casualties suffered in a sanitized, factual way. Still, it was a lot of information, especially when Minato knew that even a small detail could become hugely important to their success. 

Throughout the morning, other shinobi came and went in the records room. No one bothered him or disputed his right to be there, however, and three of them addressed him as sir and asked if they could assist him in any way. Of course, Minato didn't need anything at all: he had a sturdy desk, a comfortable chair, and plenty of reading material. It was good to be home. 

The reports on Orochimaru proved that Kakashi wasn't being overly cautious. His ability to increase the power and bloodlust of his followers through a curse mark was particularly troublesome. Not only would it give him a potentially invincible army, but the side effects were unknown and he had doubtlessly used the technique on Sasuke already. Minato thought a powerful sealing technique might be sufficient to contain the curse mark, at least until they discovered a way to remove it. Moreover, finding out that Orochimaru had a powerful medical ninja in his service was a set back. There were a number of set backs, but Minato hadn't been expecting the task to be an easy one, and it was what he could do now for his son. Minato had no choice but to succeed.

As morning turned to afternoon, Minato turned to Hiruzen’s personal account. It would not, of course, have a record of the battle in which he died, but it would certainly tell of the massacre that orphaned Sasuke. Even more than that, Minato hoped to find some explanation for the way his son had been raised. 

An explanation was exactly what he found. It certainly wasn’t an excuse. Minato paged through the chronicle, easily finding the break that indicated his own tenure as Hokage, and began skimming from the point where Hiruzen had resumed the duty of leading the village. Apparently, there had been too many witnesses to Minato’s final battle with the fox for the Hokage to keep Naruto’s nature a secret. Hiruzen had outlawed speaking about it, but he had done so too late; everyone in the village knew. Furthermore it seemed that people were unable to believe that Naruto might be anything more than the demon within him. They venerated Minato even as they forgot he had a son. When Naruto was only two years old, the nurse Hiruzen had charged with his care tried to kill him.

Minato had to reread that passage. It was difficult to believe that an elderly woman would try to murder a baby, failing only because of the Hokage’s far seeing crystal ball. It was even more difficult to believe that the Hokage would decide afterwards to settle a child still wearing diapers in an apartment of his own. Unfortunately, Minato knew this account was the unvarnished truth. The secret chronicles were kept by every Hokage to be read only by direct successors. History and politics would not be the judge of these accounts—other records existed for that—a Hokage’s journal needed to be perfectly accurate in case the next in line had to deal with specific repercussions from a previous era. Minato had no choice but to swallow his feelings and accept the past. 

Unable to read any more about his son, he turned to the massacre of the clan that had been comprised of his neighbors and friends. He thought that might be easier to deal with. 

It wasn’t. 

It really, really wasn’t.

Minato exploded from the records room and thundered through the halls only to find the Hokage’s office empty. A shaking chunin directed him to the mission room. Minato ignored the half dozen shinobi waiting patiently for Lady Tsunade’s direction and slammed the journal down on the desk in front of her. 

“What is this?” he demanded.

Lady Tsunade’s eyes narrowed. 

“Throwing your weight around again, Minato?”

He didn’t answer. Her eyes flicked down to the chronicle and widened in surprise. 

“It looks like a private journal kept by Sarutobi-sensei.”

The foundation of Minato’s anger trembled slightly. 

“You haven’t read it?”

“No. Where did you find it?”

“I—the archive room—of course Hiruzen wouldn’t have had a chance to show you.” Minato glanced around the room, abruptly aware that the secret known only to Hokage had been revealed. It didn’t matter. “Read it.”

Lady Tsunade’s eyes scanned the page quickly.

“I see. And you trust this account.”

“ _Yes._ How could this have happened? How could these people have become so blind?” Minato grabbed the ninja closest to him and shoved her face against the diary. “This is what you chose? I gave my life for this village! Kushina gave _her_ life for the village! We sacrificed Naruto!” 

Tsunade caught Minato’s hands and pulled the genin away from him. 

“Calm down.”

She was like the rock face high above the village, steady and strong. Minato was anything but.

“This wasn’t just Hiruzen.” He told her. “He wouldn’t lie. The responsible ones are still here. There can still be justice.” 

“We just keep disappointing you, don’t we,” she said. It wasn’t an answer, but she looked softer, almost sympathetic. Minato took a deep breath and tried to be reasonable.

“These accounts—and I will show you the others, including your grandfather’s—are precise. They are only intended for future Hokage; there is no reason to use a falsehood when one expects to be long gone before it is read. I know firsthand how many otherwise undocumented missions are bluntly revealed when a Hokage understands that even small things may one day matter a great deal. And this,” Minato felt as though he might begin crying again. “This was no small thing.”

“No it wasn’t,” Lady Tsunade said.

“Unforgivable. All of this, everything since the Death God took me, it’s all unforgivable.”

“Minato, I suspect Naruto and Kakashi will be sitting down to dinner soon. Wouldn’t you like to join them?”

He blinked at the non sequitur. He would, of course, like to be with Kakashi and his son, but he wasn’t a child to be distracted from a salient point by the simple and comforting. 

“I need a little time to study the information you’ve given me, and honestly I’d prefer to discuss this with far fewer people in the room, at least to begin with.”

“That is—allowable.”

“Good. So I’ll see you in my office tomorrow at noon. Bring your family. Kakashi’s pretty bright, and I know better than to try to keep Naruto away from anything dealing with Sasuke.”

“Yes, Lady Hokage.”

Returning to the Hatake Compound was strange. The people lining the village streets no longer looked cheerful and friendly. Mostly, they seemed pathetically ignorant. Minato wondered what Lady Tsunade intended to tell the other shinobi in the mission room. It was not likely to be the truth. The warm light of the main house was out of place in the dusk settling over the village. As soon as he opened the door, Minato could hear Naruto and Kakashi in the kitchen, teasing each other and getting dinner ready. Kakashi clearly knew something was wrong the moment Minato announced his presence, but Naruto didn’t notice anything. 

“Dad! Kakashi-sensei is teaching me how to break a genjutsu! At first I thought it was really boring and dumb and he says I probably won’t ever be able to use genjutsu at all, but it’s actually kind of fun, you know!”

“Oh?”

“Kakashi-sensei says I’m making really good progress! I broke out of his illusions twice, you know!”

“He did.” 

Lady Tsunade was right to tell Minato to return to his family. Minato could feel his thundering pulse slow just listening to Naruto recount his training with Kakashi. He didn’t try to swim against the tide. The three shinobi sat, talked, ate, and laughed together peacefully. The only awkward moment came when Kakashi suggested that Naruto head to bed early. Minato had a self-conscious impulse to follow his son, to attempt to hug him or tuck him in. He resisted the urge, of course; not only would such an action likely be unwelcome to the young man, Minato had no idea what he would really go about doing in the first place. The previous evening had been easier when, having drunk Lady Tsunade's tea, Minato had fallen into his own bed without half a thought for anyone else. Still, he bid Naruto an awkward goodnight and waited for Kakashi to ask about his research. He did not have to wait long. 

"I reread _Makeout Paradise_ twice today while I was waiting for Naruto to break genjutsu."

"I prefer Jiraiya-sensei's earlier work."

"Still, what about you? Did you read anything good today?"

Minato sighed. "Itachi Uchiha killed his family under orders. Hiruzen was against it, but both his advisers and Danzo were in favor of the action, so he ordered it anyway." 

"How—why?"

""Does it matter? Is there anything that could justify giving that order?" It was amazing how quickly peace could shatter, like very thin ice under a heavy weight.

Kakashi closed the distance between them and put a hand on Minato's shoulder. "Please," he said. 

"Apparently the Uchiha planned to take control of the village violently. Itachi gave evidence, but he wasn't the only one. You observed a particularly damning meeting yourself, 'Hound', if I understood Hiruzen's writing correctly." 

Minato wanted Kakashi to deny it, to say that he didn't go by the name of Hound while in ANBU or that he couldn't recall. Instead, Kakashi confirmed his suspicion. 

"Shisui commissioning those ninja tools. It was too many, even for the whole clan. But his suicide was only a few days later, and then Itachi—I never thought."

“So they were planning a coup. That doesn’t justify what happened!”

“It can’t have been an easy decision, but the Hokage has to protect the village from any threats.”

“Is that really what you think? And Tsunade will say the same—we have to stand by Hiruzen’s choices—it’s too late to change course. It isn’t!” 

“I don’t know what Lady Tsunade will say, Minato. I don’t know what I’m saying, except that we need to tread carefully here. Danzo is a powerful man, and Itachi is reviled. I understand that you’re upset—”

“Upset? They annihilated an entire clan of our own people! Worse, they forced one of the children of that clan to do it for them! This village is rotting at the roots, corrupted by the cowards in power!”

“Minato, please. Lower your voice, or you’ll wake Naruto.” 

Minato paused. Kakashi looked really frightened. Minato lowered his voice. 

“We have to do something, Kakashi. This isn’t how things were supposed to be. This isn’t the village Kushina died for. This isn’t the village I sacrificed Naruto to protect.”

“We will,” Kakashi agreed, and Minato felt the tension leave his body like a snapped bowstring. “Here. Drink your tea now. We’ll go see the Lady Hokage in the morning like she asked and find a way to fix things together.” 

“We have to bring them both home,” Minato said, distractedly downing the whole cup in one long draught. “Not just your student but Itachi, too.”

“He’s a member of the Akatsuki now, that would endanger Naruto.” 

Minato blinked slowly. His eyelids were heavy and hard to keep open. 

“He reports to Danzo. He’s lost and he’s hurting, but he’d come home if he could. We have to bring him home.” 

“All right, Minato,” Kakashi said, wrapping an arm around his waist. Minato recognized the heaviness in his limbs from the night before.

“I forgot how strong this tea was.”

“I didn’t. Let’s get you to bed. Things will look better in the morning.”

“I’d rather stay with you. You’re very warm, Kakashi.” 

“Your bed will be warm, too. I promise.”

Minato levered himself under the leaden covers and let his eyes sink shut. “Bed is always cold. The Reaper, you know. I wonder what Itachi dreams of.”


	15. Chapter 15

For the second morning in a row, Minato awoke feeling warm and comfortable. Unfortunately, the moment he opened his eyes, he remembered the discoveries of the previous day. It was not a second lazy morning. Naruto was again waiting in the kitchen with a breakfast that he was clearly proud to have made. The food wasn’t unrecognizable, so Minato smiled and ate as though it wasn’t the least important thing he could possibly be focusing on.

“Kakashi isn’t still asleep, is he?”

“Nah, he was gone before I woke up. Your tea knocks you out for a long time. I mean! It’s good that you get to sleep, you know! I wasn’t complaining, you know!”

“I know you weren’t, Naruto, and it was very considerate of you to make me breakfast. Thank you. I was just wondering where Kakashi happened to be. We were having a fairly important conversation last night before he drugged me.” 

“Drugged you!” 

“Gave me my tea at a suspiciously convenient time to end our discussion before we could come to a consensus.” 

“Oh. Yeah, that sounds like Kakashi-sensei. He’s supposed to meet the Hokage later with us, though, right? He’ll show up for that and you can fix him.” 

Minato didn’t feel the need to punish Kakashi as Naruto was implying; however, he did want to have a real talk with him before they went before the Hokage. It was possible that Minato’s emotions had gotten out of control the night before and his point had been lost in the depth of his feeling. If Kakashi believed that Minato was unstable, he would not be likely to help Minato repair the things that needed it. 

The Hokage wasn’t alone in her office when Naruto and Minato arrived, but Kakashi wasn’t with her, either. Asuma Sarutobi was a logical person to include in the discussion. Not only was there a chance he may have played some small part in the affair as Kakashi had, but as Hiruzen's only living son, he might very well have some insight into his father's thought process. What Minato couldn't understand was the presence of a chunin and two genin. They were all too young to have anything to offer on the subject. Minato reined his temper in, barely.

"How surprising: Kakashi's late," Lady Tsunade drawled. "I'll give you your mission now and you can fill him in later." 

"Mission?" Minato couldn't help interrupting. He regretted it at once. There were a number of relevant missions that Lady Tsunade could be tasking them with, and they might be grateful for the extra help even from strong genin.

“Yes. As I said before you arrived, this is an S-rank mission and anyone who wishes to decline it is free to do so.” 

It had to be retrieving Itachi—perhaps finding Sasuke—a mission that Minato would gladly undertake. Naturally, he felt concerned about Naruto’s involvement, but Minato knew that he could protect his son, even if he accomplished nothing else. 

“You can count on us, you know!” Naruto declared, beating Minato to the punch. 

“Very well,” Lady Tsunade continued, “You will be leaving at once to escort Yoshiko, a talented artist, who has been commissioned to build a somewhat controversial statue in the Land of Water.” 

Minato blinked. 

“Lady Hokage, I fail to see what this mission has to do with the matter we discussed yesterday.” 

“Don’t worry, Minato, it isn’t a failure. This has absolutely nothing to do with the concerns you expressed yesterday, but it should only take you a few weeks to complete. Perhaps we’ll talk more when you return.” 

“That is completely unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry?” 

“This has gone unattended for almost a decade and caused untold harm. Give me one reason why we shouldn’t address it right now.”

“Because I am your Hokage and I am ordering you to accept this mission.”

Lady Tsunade’s usually fiery eyes were as icy and distant as the snowcap of a mountain. 

“Am I your Hokage, Minato?”

The trap was an effectively infuriating one. Not only did it negate any possible argument, but Minato was no longer in a position to even ask questions about the meaningless mission he was being given. 

“Of course, Lady Fifth Hokage. We will leave at your command.”

“Good. Yoshiko is being entertained by Shizune in the mission room, you’ll leave at once.”

“What about Kakashi?” Asuma Sarutobi asked.

“He’ll catch up with you. There’s no need to wait for someone you know will be late.” 

Impossibly, Minato bore the insult. Tsunade was obviously trying to see if she could enrage him. There was a distinct possibility that this whole mission was simply a test to see if he could be trusted before sending him after the renegade Uchiha. If that was the case, then he needed to bear her uncharacteristic coolness and prove himself. If that was not the case, then he still didn’t need her as an enemy while he found a way to deal with the Uchiha problem on his own. Still, an insult to Kakashi was almost as difficult to permit as a blow to Naruto would have been. Of course Kakashi would have an extremely good reason to be late for a scheduled meeting. If Minato had still been the Hokage, he would have already sent ANBU to find his punctual friend. Since he wasn’t, Minato turned on his heel and left the room without waiting to be dismissed. Enduring anything more would have been truly impossible. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, the other members of his new team followed as Minato stalked down to the mission room. The last thing he was in the mood for was idle chatter. 

“Asuma-sensei,” the disagreeable looking chunin began slowly, “Lady Tsunade didn’t actually tell us why guarding an artist would be an S-rank mission.”

“You noticed that, eh Shikamaru?” 

“What a genius,” the blonde girl sneered.

“If it’s classified, it’s classified,” the boy drawled patiently, “but do you know what we’re facing?”

“I don’t, but our venerable leader for this mission Kakashi does. I saw him this morning; he’d already had an initial briefing with the Hokage that I expect went into more depth than ours. He was very upset by it.” 

Which was natural and right, because Kakashi understood how important it was that the Hidden Leaf act at once to make amends for the crimes of the past, unlike the temperamental, imprudent excuse for a Hokage that the village was suffering under. Minato thought something might need to be done about that after this mission, especially if her style of management was such that it made a diligent shinobi like Kakashi off balance enough to miss an important briefing. On the other hand, it was nice to have confirmation that Kakashi sided with Minato in this.

The mission room was relatively empty. A few shinobi were working at the desk, including the teacher—Iruka—but no one was waiting to receive an assignment. Shizune was leaning against the desk and smiling at a pretty blue haired woman that Minato inferred was their artist. Minato let Asuma take the lead with their pointless mission, choosing to hang back and listen to Naruto’s conversation with the teacher. 

“And he’s really my dad, you know!” Naruto said, waiving his hands excitedly. 

“I did hear a rumor,” the teacher replied indulgently. 

“Well did you hear about our mission? It’s a real S-rank! Super important and stuff!” 

“Escorting Ms Yoshiko? I’m fairly certain that particular mission is only a B-rank, Naruto. It surprised me that you need so many ninja assigned to it. I haven’t heard of particularly bad unrest in the Land of Water recently.” 

“Yes well, I’m sure I can stir up some trouble if we get bored,” Kakashi drawled from the doorway.

“You’re late,” smirked Asuma Sarutobi. 

“These things happen,” Kakashi agreed with equanimity. Minato felt like punching the Sarutobi. 

“Is everyone all right?” he asked. “We can postpone setting out on this ludicrous mission if you need to see a medic.” 

“What do you mean, Dad?” 

Kakashi’s visible eye widened in surprise as Naruto asked the question, and he closed the distance from the doorway to Minato in a few measured, expeditious steps. 

“Sensei, I am so sorry. The last thing I wanted was to upset anyone before the start of the mission.” 

“I’m not your teacher anymore, Kakashi, and I know you’re capable. I shouldn’t have been worried, but I can guess how many enemies it takes to make you late for a scheduled meeting with the Hokage these days. Were they Akatsuki?”

“No,” Kakashi apologized, “Nothing like that happened.”

“Kakashi-sensei is late for everything, Dad.”

“Even I know that,” the chubby genin whose name Minato still didn’t know agreed. 

“He’s completely unreliable,” the blonde girl said. 

It was one thing to respect the Hokage’s right to say what she pleased about her shinobi, but it was quite another to allow a couple of ignorant children to insult Kakashi to his face. Minato wouldn’t stand for it. 

“I got lost,” Kakashi said quickly, and it was so ridiculous that Minato paused with his mouth half open. 

“I got lost on the road of life. There was an old woman with a bag of rice that was nearly half her size and I had to help her carry it. My eye was watering and I had to stop to use my eye drops.” 

Minato understood before Kakashi had finished the second sentence. 

“So many apologies?”

Kakashi just shrugged. 

“What do you mean, apologies, Dad? Kakashi-sensei didn’t apologize at all, he just made up a bunch of dumb excuses.” 

Smiling gently at his son, Minato punched the boy’s shoulder lightly in reassurance. 

“I mean that Kakashi should stick with just one excuse if he wants us to believe it. In the mean time, we should probably begin our mission.” 

Asuma Sarutobi seemed glad to leave the subject behind, and he moved at once to introduce Kakashi to the artist they would be guarding.


	16. Chapter 16

If the mission was Lady Tsunade’s version of a test for Minato to prove his readiness to serve on a team with anyone but Naruto and Kakashi, then he failed it. The mission itself was routine. Yoshiko built a statuesque fountain for a minor local lord and was escorted back to her village in the Land of Fire without being attacked even once. The mission was fine; Asuma’s team was intolerable. 

Asuma Sarutobi smoked constantly. A stinking cloud perpetually surrounded him. Perhaps he would have been useful in a fight, if a fight had occurred, but instead he seemed like a completely useless add on. Barely talking, he never even bothered to rein in his team. He scarcely did anything during the entire mission except play shogi in the evenings with Shikamaru Nara. Worst of all, his presence meant that Kakashi felt the need to play it cool, rarely eating in company and never allowing Minato or Naruto to touch him even accidentally. 

Shikamaru was even more infuriating than Asuma. As a chunin and the laziest human being Minato had ever met, he was constantly bossing Naruto around and forcing Minato’s son to do any and all of the actual work that the mission entailed. Naruto wound up setting camp every night, walking every guard perimeter, and running more than a few errands for Yoshiko at Shikamaru’s request. New chunin always went a little power mad around their not-yet-promoted classmates, but Shikamaru’s behavior was clearly excessive. 

Ino and Choji—Shikamaru’s teammates—were just as bad. They technically couldn’t order Naruto to do their work, but they made it very clear that Naruto was the lowest in their pecking order. Choji seemed content to do nothing but eat snacks while Naruto set up camp or ran his guard circuit for him at Shikamaru’s request, while Ino seemed to need to harangue the boy. Without appearing to do any work herself, she criticized the way Naruto did everything from building a fire to dressing himself. After the mission was technically complete, Minato felt he could take on some of the responsibilities usually handled by genin to ease the burden on his son as they headed back to the village. While Minato set up camp and started cooking dinner, the harridan continued to harass his son. 

“I’m just saying, it’s completely unfashionable to wear so much orange. You look like a clown.”

“It’s my favorite color, you know!”

“You only do it because you want attention—it’s totally obvious. You should try to dress a little more like Shikamaru.” 

“You mean like I’m going to a funeral? No thanks!”

“Sakura is never going to go on a date with you unless you pay a little more attention to your appearance.” 

“What? Sakura loves Sasuke, you know!”

“Sasuke is a traitor. Choji almost died because of him. Since you’re probably the best that billboard brow can do now, you might actually stand a chance—if you start dressing a little better and acting a little cooler.” 

Minato wondered when Kakashi and Asuma would return from their patrol. He hoped they might bring something to augment the stew Minato was almost finished cooking. Mostly, he hoped that Kakashi would be in time to break the tension before Minato needed to. 

“I’m going to bring Sasuke home, you know! And Sakura can date anyone she wants to! She’s super pretty, you know!” 

“Oh please. I’ll agree that someone as stupid as you are probably doesn’t have much of a chance with a braniac like Sakura—and that you’re probably too ugly for your looks to help you make up the difference—but super pretty is going too far. She’s nowhere near as pretty as me, after all.” 

It was too much. Minato would not tolerate another insult to his son, not after everything the boy had suffered already. 

“You know, Naruto,” Shikamaru drawled, “Ino is right. I was the only kid in our class with parents who would have let me play with you. If you were cooler, we might have been friends. I just didn’t like you enough to try.” 

The kunai was in Minato’s hand before he even thought about it, but he didn’t throw it as he intended. His body couldn’t move at all. 

“Shadow Possession Jutsu is a success,” Shikamaru said seriously. 

“Dad!”

“Shikamaru,” Choji asked, not putting down his bag of potato chips, “What’s going on?”

“He was going to kill Ino,” the chunin said factually. “The Lord Fourth Hokage is our real mission—the S rank one—or couldn’t you feel his murderous intent.” 

Unfortunately, Minato couldn’t contradict the accusation. The blow he’d intended to give Shikamaru had been a real one. Chunin or not, the boy was a child of Leaf Village, no older than Naruto. Minato had suspected the true purpose of the mission, but he hadn’t realized it was necessary until that moment. Shikamaru had been right to provoke him. 

“What do you mean, our real mission?” Naruto asked. “Let go of my dad, Shikamaru!” 

“Escorting an artist who had no one targeting her was a C rank mission at best,” Shikamaru explained without loosening the shadow possession even a fraction. “But the Hokage was very clear when we met with her that she did not expect a hundred percent survival rate for this mission. Moreover, the fact that our team was chosen instead of any of your other friends from Sasuke’s Rescue Mission suggests that Lady Tsunade required our specific skill set. None of us are particularly suited for a protection mission—we’re a capture and interrogation squad—but we are the most likely to annoy you aside from Kiba, and obviously Hinata could easily counteract that. Therefore, the logical deduction is that we are here to cause the Lord Fourth Hokage to attack us with a killing intent. It’s a pain, but I have no intention of dying.” 

Naruto blinked in confusion, but the boy’s analysis made an unfortunate amount of sense to Minato. 

“You won’t die, Shikamaru,” Kakashi said, leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing they’d chosen to set up camp in. 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Choji said in obvious relief. Asuma landed next to Kakashi a moment later. 

“What’s going on here?” the Sarutobi asked. 

“Shikamaru was just about to release Minato,” Kakashi said. “He’s feeling better now; he’s not a danger to you.”

“Is that so?” the chunin said skeptically. 

“You, Ino, and Choji are in no danger. I swear it on my life.” 

“I won’t hurt any of you,” Minato promised. He could hardly believe that he would threaten a child. Even during the darkest part of the war, he had always spared the very young among his enemies. To consider harming a boy of his own village—no matter his rank—was abominable. Of course, the problem was that he hadn’t considered anything; he’d simply reacted emotionally. Clearly, his village was no longer something he felt needed protection. “It won’t happen again.” 

“Minato’s just tired,” Kakashi explained casually. “Lady Tsunade’s been giving him tea to help him sleep, but he can’t have it in the field because it’s too strong, so he hasn’t been sleeping well. You try not sleeping for two weeks and you’ll be just as dangerous.”

“Asuma-sensei?” the boy deferred. 

“If Kakashi says the danger is past, then the danger is past.” 

Shikamaru released the jutsu ensnaring Minato, but he didn’t take his eyes off the former Hokage.

“Great,” Kakashi said. “We’re only a day out from the village; if you guys would feel more comfortable pressing on instead of camping tonight, we can do that.” 

“No,” Minato said. “I won’t be returning to Leaf Village.” Kakashi didn’t look even slightly surprised. 

“What? Dad! Why not?” 

“Because Shikamaru is right, Naruto. I was going to kill him. That’s why Tsunade sent us here. She wanted me to realize the depth and danger of my feelings. I’d thought I was past the worst of it, but I can’t be. It’s unforgivable—the way you were treated—everything that has happened in the last thirteen years. I can’t call people who would allow those things to happen my comrades. I can’t forgive it. Don’t worry, I still have every intention of rescuing your friend from Orochimaru-sensei—Itachi, too, if he’ll allow it—but you needn’t join me.”

“Can I?” Kakashi asked, and Minato froze.

“Kakashi, I don’t intend to return to Leaf Village. Not ever.” 

“Believe me, I understand that.” 

“You have—surely your loyalties—“ 

“Are to you. In fact, Tsunade ordered me to let you go without argument, if that was your choice. However, you have been my teacher, my friend, my Hokage, and my loyalty is always with you. Please don’t ask me to prove it.” 

Minato realized in an abrupt and utterly horrifying way that Kakashi had pointedly guaranteed the safety of everyone but Asuma. 

“No! You wouldn’t.” 

Kakashi smiled softly. “What I will do is follow you into hell, this time. You’re having a hard month, but you are still my Minato. Don’t leave me behind again.”

Minato didn’t know what to say. He didn’t deserve such devotion. For one thing, he had nothing more than a vague plan of rescuing Naruto’s friend to make things right with his son. More importantly, if Naruto chose to remain in Leaf Village, Minato wanted Kakashi to look after him. Still, selfishly, he wanted to keep Kakashi close. Things were almost tolerable when Kakashi was near. 

“Wait,” Naruto said, “I don’t understand. The whole point of rescuing Sasuke is so that things can go back to the way they were with all of us on Team Seven. Now Kakashi-sensei is talking about leaving the village forever! Why can’t we just go home?” 

“Because the Lord Fourth Hokage is dangerous,” Shikamaru said. “I’d guess that he’s been dangerous since he came back, and that he’s already threatened the Lady Fifth’s life or position. That would be why we came on this mission.” 

“No, shut up, Shikamaru, I’m figuring something out,” Naruto said. 

Shikamaru sighed. 

“Dad, why can’t we go home?”

“Because Leaf Village doesn’t deserve you, Naruto. What happened to you—to Sasuke and Itachi—is unforgivable.” 

“Oh!” Naruto said. “I get it now! But it’s okay, Dad. I forgive you.” 

Minato couldn’t move. If he had been able to form a thought, he might have wondered if Shikamaru had used his Shadow Possession Justu again. 

“Really,” Naruto said earnestly. “It was bad for me for a while, and maybe I was lonely and didn’t always have enough to eat, but you made the best choice you could at the time to protect the village. I forgive you. I want to protect the village too, you know!” 

“That isn’t—you can’t just—don’t you understand? What happened to you—what happened to the village—that isn’t something a person _should_ just forgive. There needs to be justice.” 

“Yeah! Totally! But that’s all of us being a family, you know! Also, maybe me getting to become the Hokage one day, too. That’s justice!”

“Naruto, you don’t understand.”

“Sure I do! I’m not dumb, you know! You feel responsible for all the bad stuff that happened because you were the Hokage and your job was to keep the bad stuff from happening and also my dad. But you did the best you could and I forgive you. I love you, you know!” 

It was the peculiar verbal tick at the end of Naruto’s declaration that really did it. He was so exactly like Kushina, and her anger had always been a flash in the pan—finished and forgotten almost before she was done shouting. Amazingly, it seemed that forgiveness might actually be possible. After a long while, he had realized that it was exactly what he needed. 

There was nothing tentative about the way Minato grabbed his son then, and nothing hesitant in the way Naruto wrapped his arms around his father. If Minato had tears in his eyes, they were unimportant. The only thing that mattered was his son. 

“I love you too, you know,” he murmured against the boy’s hair.


	17. Chapter 17

“Completely willing to turn traitor against the whole village, eh?” Asuma teased Kakashi as the team finished the final leg of their journey home. “I’m telling Kurenai.” 

“Tell whomever you like,” Kakashi said, not looking up from his book as they walked. 

“She’ll be so disappointed in you.”

“That’s your weakness, not mine.” 

“Then I’m telling Guy.” 

“Go right ahead.”

“You were really willing to kill me, eh?”

“I’m considering it right now.”

“Kakashi-sensei wasn’t going to kill you, you know! He’d never let a comrade come to harm! I don’t even know what you guys are talking about, you know!” Naruto interrupted the bickering old friends. The three who knew Kakashi’s history were silent for a moment too long. 

“At worst, he would have seriously maimed you,” Minato agreed lightly, even though he knew that the question of proving Kakashi’s loyalty had been a test of Minato’s state of mind more than anything. 

“Yeah?” Asuma continued. “What do you think? Just cut off an arm?” 

“Your tongue,” Kakashi said, still reading. “I’d have cut out your tongue first.” 

“The arm would be more useful, tactically,” Shikamaru said. “It takes a lot of work to form jutsu one handed.” 

“Whose side are you on?” his teacher demanded.

“Well, you’re not fighting right now.” 

“Just out of curiosity, if you lost your tongue would it prevent you from smoking those filthy things?” Minato asked in mock politeness. 

“Who knows? Nothing’s worked so far.” 

“I don’t know how you Sarutobi manage it.”

“Manage what?” Ino asked curiously. 

“They say they have a wind type chakra, and then they constantly pollute the wind with soot.” 

“What do you mean ‘they’?” said Asuma good-naturedly. “My sister doesn’t smoke at all. Neither did my brother, may he rest in peace.” 

“You and your father, your aunt, your grandfather, your grandmother and your great uncle, then. And as I recall, your sister’s primary chakra nature is fire.” 

“You’re such an old man, Minato-sensei,” Asuma laughed. “I hardly even remember my grandfather’s generation. They all died before the war even started.” 

“Well they all smoked like burning evergreen.” 

“And Namikazes never would?”

“Of course not. My parents—rest their bones—would never have dreamed of it, though I’ll admit that I don’t really know any more of my grandparents than you do.” 

“Well that explains why you were so quick to defect.”

“Hey! Dad didn’t defect! He just got mad for a minute!” 

“Easy, Naruto. Is it my appreciation for clean air or my lack of familial knowledge that makes me a defector, Asuma?”

“Smoke! Smoke is wind and fire. A guy like you who doesn’t care for the fire part, well, you can’t really be that loyal to the Land of Fire, eh?”

Minato grinned. “And I suppose the same thing goes for an earth type who doesn’t like to swim in volcanoes?” 

“Eh. It’s a working theory.” 

“Speaking of theories,” Shikamaru interrupted, “It’s a pain, but we should talk about the mission before we get home. What are we reporting to the Hokage?”

Minato stopped walking and stared at the boy in astonishment. “Everything, of course. You wouldn’t seriously consider lying to your Hokage, would you?”

Shikamaru didn’t look at Minato and scuffed his sandal against the ground while he answered. “I provoked you, but some people might still see your declaration and attempted attack as treasonous. There were a lot of ruffled feathers after that business at the ice cream stall; people said you came back wrong. If there’s too much talk, someone might suggest that you shouldn’t be welcome in the village, and that would be a pain after everyone convincing you to stay last night and everything.” 

“Would it be?” Minato said neutrally. “I did try to kill you.” 

The boy shrugged. 

“You’re Naruto’s dad,” Choji answered in his stead. “And you’re a pretty good cook, too.” 

“Not to mention a really great ninja, and a hero,” Ino said. “Sometimes ninja have trouble sorting their thoughts after a bad experience. I’m studying to be a medical ninja with a specialty in mental jutsu to handle trauma like that. Lady Tsunade says it’s a very exclusive field. Anyway, you don’t need to be punished just because you already survived some pretty terrible punshiment.” 

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Minato said. “A shinobi’s first duty is to the village and her comrades. You must never conceal important intelligence like this from your superiors.” 

“It’s a pain, but you are our comrade.” 

“Shikamaru,” Asuma said, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll submit a regular report about the mission and tell Lady Tsunade about the special circumstances of our return in private.”

“And since you’re so worried about the reports,” Kakashi said, “You can be responsible for the written ones. Iruka wants payment forms filed in triplicate these days.” 

“What a pain.” 

Minato appreciated that it was loyalty to Naruto that had prompted Shikamaru’s initial offer, but he agreed with Kakashi that it was a sentiment to be discouraged. When the group finally did make their oral report to Lady Tsunade, Minato’s own was the most comprehensive. He sent Naruto and Kakashi home ahead so that he could have his first truly candid talk with her. They spoke for hours. 

Minato’s health—mental more than physical—was the initial topic of discussion. For the first time since his return, he felt decidedly like himself. Which meant that for the first time since his return, he could admit that he hadn’t been feeling like himself at all. He described the nightmares in more than grudging detail, explained his impulses—beyond the obvious violent ones— as best he could, and admitted to the incredibly inappropriate fantasies of supplanting her or leaving Leaf Village. In understanding the source of his feelings, he was able to provide Lady Tsunade with a complete picture of what she might expect of him. He was not optimistic enough to promise that all of his troubles were over, but he felt prepared to face them honestly. Lady Tsunade seemed astounded by his progress. 

Clearly, Tsunade hadn’t been expecting such an improvement in Minato’s temperament, but she accepted it quickly and began treating him as a resource instead of a patient. First, she wanted to know more about the Hokage’s Journals. He showed her to the secret cache and explained the concept of a completely accurate record that would only ever be seen by a very few. He wondered what the First Hokage would think to know that his own granddaughter would be reading the honest record of all the compromises and concessions it took to establish a village. He wondered how he would feel when Naruto read his own records. Before he had time to dwell, Tsunade put the diaries aside to discuss the Uchiha problem. 

The main problem seemed to be that Sasuke and Itachi were going to be very difficult to locate. Apparently Orochimaru maintained a number of hideouts and secret laboratories, not all of which were known, and he moved between them in secret. Sasuke was thought to travel with him, so pinning down a location for the boy would be difficult, let alone the challenges presented by a retrieval operation. Of course the Akatsuki were just as difficult to pinpoint. Village Intelligence knew much less about the organization to begin with, and keeping tabs on Itachi was impossible. Tsunade had approached Danzo armed with her knowledge of his operative and received a promise in turn that the next time Itachi reported in she would be included. Minato was skeptical that ROOT could be trusted, but he agreed that cooperating with the man was probably their best chance of making covert contact with Itachi without exposing him as an agent. 

When they finished establishing as much of a plan as they could for retrieving the poor brothers who had been so wrongly used by their predecessors, Minato indulged himself and asked if Tsunade had any good stories about Naruto. The Hokage was happy to continue the conversation informally once she opened a bottle of sake that she kept hidden in a drawer. The more relaxed atmosphere created by sharing a drink was perfect for storytelling rather than reporting and strategizing. Apparently, Naruto had played an even larger role in recruiting her to return as the Hokage than even he claimed. Tsunade told Minato the whole tale, including her own ambivalence about helping Orochimaru and Naruto’s bravery facing Kabuto. Hearing her speak so admiringly of anyone was a surprise, but her respect for his son was genuine and it warmed Minato’s heart. It was very late in the evening when she finally insisted that they either move the conversation a bar for a second bottle of sake or call it a night. 

“It seems the Lady Hokage had a lot to say,” Kakashi observed when Minato returned home. 

“Oh. Did I worry you by being unexpectedly late?” Minato asked innocently. 

“Ma, I knew Old Lady Tsunade wouldn’t do anything bad to you,” Naruto said. “She’s secretly nice, you know!” 

“I agree. You need to have more faith, Kakashi.” 

“I don’t need to have faith. I have preparation and skill.”

“Don’t be crabby, Kakashi-sensei! Everything’s worked out great, you know!”

“For the moment, Naruto, but the situation we find ourselves in is a serious one, and we need to treat it that way.”

“Same old Kakashi. You know Naruto, when Kakashi was a genin he had a remarkably cruel teacher who tried to prepare him for the world by attacking him at random and telling a joke or tickling him. As a very serious, highly trained ninja, Kakashi couldn’t allow himself to laugh, so it was a real challenge for both of them.” 

“No,” Kakashi said.

“You mean it’s not true?” Naruto asked, looking between his father and his teacher. 

“He means he knows that if we tag team him he doesn’t stand a chance,” Minato said, rushing around behind Kakashi to cut him off from the doorway. 

Naruto didn’t catch on immediately, so they had to chase Kakashi all the way around the house and garden until they finally managed to trap him on the roof of the storage shed. Even so, Kakashi was less ticklish than Minato remembered. It took both of them to pin him and find the sensitive place on his side. In the end, Minato was sure that Kakashi was laughing more at the expression on Naruto’s face than at the physical stimulation. Still, he did laugh, which was more than enough for Minato. 

In the morning, Minato sobered up. It was past time to sit down with Naruto and explain the full breadth of the Uchiha situation. 

“So Sasuke’s brother isn’t really a bad guy?”

“No. He was acting under orders.”

“But he did kill all the rest of Sasuke’s family.”

“Yes.”

“Because they were bad guys?”

“Well, plotting to overthrow the Hokage and take control of the Village in any case.”

“Sasuke doesn’t know about it, though?”

“No. The whole thing was kept secret from everyone who wasn’t directly involved.” 

“So how do you know about it?”

“I told you, I read it in the Lord Third’s journal.” 

“That Sasuke’s brother isn’t really a bad guy.”

“Yes. He was acting under orders.”

“To kill his own parents and all the rest of his family.”

“Yes. It was a terrible order, and Itachi was forced to make a terrible choice.”

“And he chose to kill his own family.”

“Yes, under orders.”

“So we have to find Sasuke and tell him the truth.”

“That’s our plan, yes.” 

“And then he won’t need to kill Itachi, so he can give up on revenge and come home!”

“Ideally, yes.” 

“Well at least that part makes sense! You can explain it all to him when we see him, you know! I’m no good at that sort of thing. When I tried to talk to him, he didn’t really listen, you know!” 

“It all makes sense, Naruto!” Kakashi interrupted in frustration. Minato had sensed the jonin’s presence on the porch roof while he was talking, but he hadn’t realized he was eavesdropping. “The Third Hokage ordered something terrible. Accept reality and move on.” 

“Is that what you’re going to tell Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei?” Suddenly, Naruto seemed considerably wiser than Minato had imagined. “Because he isn’t going to accept a story like this on hearsay.” 

“We have Hiruzen’s writings, and we’ll convince Itachi to confess,” Minato said while Kakashi was blinking at his son. “You don’t think that will be enough?”

“I don’t know. I thought just talking to him would be enough, but it wasn’t. He’s a pretty stubborn guy, you know.” 

“Well, we have to try.” 

“And Old Lady Tsunade said we can look for him?”

“She has people looking already. As soon as we get a solid lead, we’ll go together and retrieve him.” 

“That’s great, Dad. You’re right; we have to try.”


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto had made amazing progress with his meditation training, but that was only the first step on the long path to harnessing his full potential as a jinchuriki. In order to develop further, he needed to visit the ruins of Hidden Eddy Village. Certain geographical formations there contained mystical properties that the Uzumaki Clan had long ago learned would help a jinchuriki learn to control a tailed beast. Lady Tsunade had given her permission for the trip as a matter of course, but Minato wasn’t entirely prepared for the trip himself. 

"Really, Kakashi, you don't have to come with us."

"Tsunade said she could spare me now that so many of the ninja you injured are out of the hospital and fully recovered." 

"I thought I managed to convince her that I didn't need a babysitter."

"You did. I convinced her that I've had a total of a month's personal vacation in the last decade and I used it to train with Sasuke. She said I could come train with you as long as I didn't whine about it for the next decade." 

"This isn't going to be a vacation."

"I know that. What's the real issue, Minato?"

Minato sighed. Keeping things hidden from Kakashi was never wise—or possible for long. 

"The secrets of the Eddy Village are ones that I was never supposed to know. They're the Uzumaki heritage. Kushina only shared them with me when she knew she was the last survivor. I can't just—“ 

"Oh. No, I understand completely. I didn't mean to intrude on a family affair." 

Minato felt terrible. "You are family. Of course you should come."

"Thank you, but I wouldn't dream of it. After all, the secret to controlling a Tailed Beast could become such a powerful weapon in my hands, and I am the Copy Ninja. You can't be too careful."

"Kakashi, really, I didn't mean to insult you. I want you to come, it’s just complicated." 

"Hey! You guys ready to go! I've been packed for hours, you know!" Naruto bounced into the living room with a wide grin, but it quickly fell away. As it happened, the boy could occasionally read the mood of a room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Kakashi said. "I'm sure you and your father will have an excellent trip."

"You aren't coming? Why not?" 

"Clans have to keep their secrets," he said with a lighthearted smile. "I certainly wouldn't invite either of you on a secret Hatake dog training trip."

"You're going on a dog-training trip? What?" 

"He's coming with us," Minato said temperamentally. "I shouldn't have said anything, and I'm very much in the wrong for trying to keep a promise to my dead wife, I'm sure." 

"Look, I'm not so good at understanding when people say things but they really mean other things, you know! Just tell me what's going on!"

"I’m sorry, Naruto," Minato said unhappily. "You know that we are going to the land where the Hidden Eddy Village used to be, and that it was your mother's original home, right?"

"Yeah. You said there's some stuff that will help me learn to control the Fox there."

"There is. That stuff has been kept secret by the Uzumaki clan for a long time, since long before Hidden Leaf or Hidden Eddy ever existed."

"Oh. So it's really old stuff?"

"Yes, but the point is that it's really secret stuff, Naruto. Kushina probably shouldn't have shown it to me at all, but she was the last Uzumaki, so it was her right."

"Is it valuable?" asked Naruto.

"For us it will be priceless. I'm not sure that it's possible to learn the techniques you need to without some variant of these particular tools."

Naruto laughed in a way Minato hadn't heard before. It was a mischievous little chuckle. 

"I hope you're planning to take this seriously."

"Sure I am," Naruto said, turning to Kakashi. "You can come if you teach me Chidori!" 

"Naruto! That isn't seriously at all." 

"Sure it is! I'm the last Uzumaki! He can come if I say he can come, right? And it seems fair to me to trade one really great justu for another!"

"More fair than you know," Kakashi said. "I can't learn the techniques you'll be studying in the ruins because I'm not a jinchuriki, and I truly doubt that you could learn the Chidori if I tried to teach it to you."

"What do you mean? I'm just as good a student as Sasuke is, you know!"

"It has nothing to do with work or intelligence, Naruto," Kakashi explained patiently. "Every person's chakra has an affinity with a different natural element—Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, or Lightning—that they can use for jutsu. My primary affinity is with Lightning and so is Sasuke's. Now, someone who is very skilled and willing to work very hard can train in an element that they have a weaker affinity with, the way Sasuke can use Fire Style Justu, but no one can use all of the elements. No matter how hard I try or what jutsu I copy with my Sharingan, I have never been able to use a Wind Style."

"So you don't think I have Lightning Chakra?"

"No, I don't. My affinity with the type is strong enough that I can usually sense it in others. I knew Sasuke had it the day we started working together." 

"Oh. And you don't think you can use any of the stuff my dad is going to teach me in Eddy Village, either."

"Now that you mention it, I've been hiding the fact that I also have a demon inside of me for years: a Twelve Tailed Squirrel."

"You don't have to be sarcastic! Why do you even want to come, then?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I want to spend time with you. Well, I want to spend time with your father and I reluctantly accept that he'll be spending his time with you for the foreseeable future."

"Kakashi-sensei! You're so mean!"

"I thought you'd prefer honesty! So, can I come on your father-son camping trip? I promise to teach you something good some other time."

"I guess, but only because I think Dad really wants you to come, he just doesn't want to invite you." 

It was a remarkably accurate observation for the boy to make, and the perfect solution to Minato’s moral dilemma. Of course Naruto could invite anyone he pleased to tour the caves, just as Kushina had. Minato was something of an interloper there, but they were Naruto’s heritage. 

The trio set out on the road just as morning was turning into afternoon. No one but Tsunade knew their destination, but the gate guards waved them merrily along anyway. It was the perfect day for a walk. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the clouds were the fluffy kind that threatened no rain. Despite the arguments of the morning, Minato felt very pleased with the day. Of course Naruto's training was paramount, but since they were traveling on their own impetus, without an explicitly ordered mission, it was easy to feel as though they were simply taking a trip together as a family. Certainly there was no need to be completely alert the way they needed to be for a mission. They could relax a little if they wanted to. 

"I think some general observation training is in order," he suggested cheerfully. 

"Sure!" his son enthused. "I'm always up for extra training, you know!" 

"Good. I see something red." 

"Um, okay." 

"You have to guess what it is," Kakashi said, not looking up from his book. "Haven't you played this game before?"

"Of course I have! But it's a game for little kids, not training!" 

"On the contrary. It trains in basic observation and reading unconscious tells while improving teamwork!"

"Oh, really!" 

Kakashi snorted. Obviously, he was wise to Minato's clever scheme, but he didn't say anything to contradict his friend’s argument.

"Is it that flower?" Naruto guessed.

"No, guess again." 

So Minato and his son played "I Spy" for the first few hours of the trip. When too many objects were being repeated, they switched to word games to "hone speaking skills and mental acuity." Kakashi only teased Minato a little with a gleam in his eye and a particular smirk, and he didn't say a single word to Naruto. When they set up camp for the evening, Kakashi was even the one to suggest telling ghost stories. Although frankly, his story about a phantom teacher who haunted the halls of the academy trying to catch people and force them to take written tests even after they'd graduated was perfectly ridiculous and left a great deal to be desired. Naruto seemed to like it, however, and he kept demanding that Kakashi admit that he'd invented the whole thing long after the story was over. Still, Minato decided to go a more traditional route with his story. He told the Tale of the Long Haired Bride who waited eternally in the halls of her castle for a groom that would never come, smothering any men who dared to spend the night in her domain. 

"What about you, Naruto?" Minato prompted in the long silence that followed his story. "Won't you grace us with a tale?" 

"I can't top that, Dad. No way!" 

"I'm sure you're too modest. Of course if you're too tired, we can always douse the fire now. A ninja needs his rest, after all." 

"No! No, lets not go to bed just yet! I'm not tired, you know!" 

Kakashi smirked. Minato wondered if he had been a little too explicit about the deadly nature of the Long Haired Woman's affections. 

"I know a ghost story! It's a true story, too, not like your made up ones! When I was in school all of the kids used to tell each other about the demon that haunted the graveyard after dark, you know.” Naruto paused for dramatic effect, looking at his audience to make sure he had their attention. Minato was listening attentively, but Kakashi was looking away. Minato had noticed that one of Kakashi’s new traits was a general level of disengagement with everyday life. It was a little frustrating, even though he usually gave Minato his complete attention. Naruto didn’t seem surprised by his teacher’s lack of focus; in fact, he looked a little pleased that Kakashi hadn’t taken out a book or something equally diverting. He continued his story. 

“Well the three boys who used to tell the story the most and bully everyone said they were going to go into the graveyard to face the demon. I wanted to go with them—because I'm just as brave as anyone—but they wouldn't let me. They didn't know that demons always punish people who are cruel. That night, I followed them into the graveyard with a lantern of my own and I saw how they ran in terror when the very demon they were so afraid of appeared right in front of them and scared them all away!" 

Kakashi looked interested in spite of himself. "I thought you said this was a true story." 

"It is." 

"So what really happened?" 

"Exactly what I said, you know! Well, after that Iruka-sensei caught me and took my mask away. And yelled at me for maybe starting a little fire when I dropped my lantern."

Kakashi laughed. "Of course." 

"Because the demon your peers all scared themselves with was the Nine Tailed Fox," Minato observed, finding the story less humorous than Kakashi had. 

"Well yeah," Naruto said. "But they didn't know it was me. I didn't even know it was me when I decided to scare them, you know!" 

Minato found himself smiling a little because Naruto's grin was so broad. 

"Well, I can't say I don't approve of giving a bully a good scare." 

"That means your dad thinks you cleverly avenged yourself without hurting anyone or fighting, Naruto. Unlike your teachers who know you are an unrepentant mischief maker who probably only did it just to cause trouble." 

"Aw, Kakashi-sensei. You know me so well."


	19. Chapter 19

After three days of traveling, Naruto seemed less than impressed with the Village Hidden in the Eddies. Honestly, Minato could understand his disappointment. In the decade and a half since his last visit, the village had gone from ruined to being utterly demolished. Without any inhabitants to keep up repairs, the storms that occasionally blew in from the sea had rotted everything wooden and tumbled anything built with brick. There wasn't a single human construction that remained in good condition. Still, the setting was as beautiful as ever. Nestled among the high cliffs with enormous waves crashing everywhere but in the eerily calm harbor, the ruin was perfectly situated. 

"There's something valuable here?" Naruto said uncertainly. 

"There is quite a bit of value here," Minato confirmed. "If you know where to look. However, we should set up a secure camp tonight. The weather here is always unpredictable, and we'll want a dry place to sleep." 

In the early evening it rained lightly for a few hours, because Minato had never spent more than a day in Eddy Village without it raining at least once. Fortunately, by that time the group had found shelter in an old brick house that still had two walls and something like a roof that had once been a second story. Kakashi reinforced the building with his earth style and gave it two more walls and a chimney. With a roaring fire, it was actually a very pleasant place to spend the night. Of course, Naruto didn't see things quite the same way. 

"Aren't we going to train tonight? I'm not tired from walking, you know!" 

"Unfortunately, we can't start tonight; we'll need the daylight where we're going. That said, if you're ready at dawn, we can start then." 

"Great! I'm going to go to sleep right now so that I can be ready first thing!" 

Naruto threw himself energetically onto his bedroll. Minato couldn't help sharing a smile with Kakashi. He wondered if Naruto had ever done anything halfheartedly even once in his life. 

The next morning as promised, Minato woke Kakashi and Naruto a few minutes before dawn. It was a beautiful time of day in Hidden Eddy Village, when the first pink light was battling the high cliffs to show itself over the ocean. Since Minato didn't feel comfortable using Lady Tsunade's Tea outside of Leaf Village, he had been awake for a few hours already. Kakashi also opened his eyes as easily as blinking. Naruto, on the other hand, yawned widely and blinked slowly even after the camp was tidy enough to leave. 

Minato led the pair up into the cliffs that lined the southern edge of the harbor. With a small flourish he showed them the low brick wall shoring up part of the path leading down the other side away from the ruined village. It was shielded from all of the worst weather by the cliff face, so it was in much better condition than most of the village had been. 

"That better not be the really cool thing you said you were going to show me," Naruto grumbled sleepily.

"What's the secret, Sensei?" Kakashi smiled. 

Minato returned the smile. 

"It's a lock. You need a code to open it." He found the first brick on the far right and pressed it into the wall. It slid in the mortar easily and stopped with a barely audible click. Minato pushed it again so that it slid even deeper for a second click. "When you come here alone, remember that you have to push the first brick twice, or you'll get to the end for nothing." Minato pushed the second brick until he heard the click. Then he pressed the third, fifth, eighth, and thirteenth in line. 

Kakashi laughed. "That's clever."

"What is? What's clever?" asked Naruto. 

"The code is a bit of a joke. There is a series of numbers the ratio between which can be used to describe a spiral—an Uzumaki or an Eddy, as it were," Minato explained. "We have to push all of the bricks on this wall that represent a number in that series. Don't worry, it's fewer than it seems at the beginning." 

"Uh. Okay. I don't really get it, you know. But if you can unlock the door, I guess I don't need to."

“Oh, it’s not that complicated,” Kakashi said. “I think even a guy like you can get it. Look here.” Kakashi pointed to the red spiral on his shoulder. “Do you see how the outer circle is a little bit bigger than the one inside of it?”

“Well, yeah. I’m not blind, Kakashi-sensei, I’m just not very good with numbers.” 

“Well, do you think the second circle is twice as big as the first one?”

“Um. Not quite. At least it doesn’t look like it is. But maybe close?”

“Exactly. The relationship between the circles in a perfect spiral is a little more than one and a half. So the outer circle is about one and a half times as big as the inner circle.”

“Um, okay. I mean I get it. That makes sense.” 

“This sequence of numbers—when it goes on for a really long time—the relationship between the two numbers is that same amount: a little more than one and a half.” 

“Okay. I mean that’s great and all, but how do I know which bricks to press.” 

“That’s the best part!” Minato said, taking over the lesson. “Each new number in the sequence is just the previous two numbers added together.” 

“Really?”

“That’s why you have to push the first brick twice, because the first two numbers are both one.”

“Oh. Oh! So the third number is two! And then three! And two plus three is five, so you push the fifth brick next!” 

“Exactly! Who said you weren’t good with numbers?” 

“Aw, this is easy stuff!” 

“So if the last three we pushed were five, eight, and thirteen, what should we press next?”

“Easy! Twenty one, you know!” 

“Absolutely! Why don’t you count it out and do the honors?” 

“I can just count eight after the pushed in one, can’t I? Because that was brick thirteen, wasn’t it?”

“You certainly can. You’re a smart kid to come up with a shortcut so quickly.” 

Naruto blushed and started counting. “You have to say stuff like that because you’re my dad.” 

“Or maybe I’m just flattering you so that you’ll take over inputting the code.” 

“You’ve been spending too much time with Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said, but he dutifully took over at the wall carefully counting bricks and pushing them gently until he heard the click. He counted to thirty-four, fifty-five, and eighty-nine the same way, but then he reached the end of the row. 

“Just keep your count and continue on to the second row,” Minato advised. 

“From the right again, or does it turn around?” 

“From the right. Always right to left on this wall, although turning it around at the end of the row might have been a good way to make it more difficult for spies to figure out while watching from afar.” 

“I think you give spies too much credit,” Naruto murmured, dutifully resuming his counting. 

When Naruto depressed the fifteenth brick—the 987th brick on the wall—he paused and turned to his father. 

“There are exactly one thousand bricks on this wall,” Minato said. “If you want you can count to make sure there are thirteen between the one you just pressed and the end of the row.” 

The path beneath them gave a gentle tremor and the center of the wall split apart revealing a staircase that led down into the earth. 

“Or you could wait for the jutsu to activate,” he continued, noting Naruto’s gleeful expression. 

“Can we go in?”

“After you,” Minato said, following the skipping Naruto and the more cautious Kakashi into the tunnel. He lit a torch carefully and pulled the lever that shut the door behind them. 

“Cool!” Naruto said, bouncing down the stairs to the heavy wooden door at the end of the landing. “Does this have a code too?”

“No, you just pull the handle.” 

Naruto bounced into the room and stopped. “Oh,” he said. “It’s a library.” 

“It’s a library,” Kakashi agreed in the tone of respectful awe that Minato felt the room deserved. 

It was a very impressive library for being a fairly small room. The rows of shelves were neatly spaced and completely full of books and scrolls all organized according to topic and relevance. Some of the works were descriptions of jutsu, a few were histories, and the vast majority dealt in theory. It was the most complete collection of work on Sealing Jutsu ever to exist and not a single tome had a copy that existed anywhere outside of the Uzumaki Library. There was nothing quite so appealing to Minato as an extremely rare book. He extinguished his torch. 

“What are those glowing balls?” asked Naruto. 

“The reason we had to come down here in daylight. They’re polished quartz connected to a stone near the top of the cliff with a very complicated association jutsu. Each quartz shines with the same light shining on that stone, so when it’s daytime outside, it’s nearly as bright in here. Obviously the risk of fire is too much to hazard any other light source. I think this is a very clever solution.” 

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” 

“These books—they’re the Uzumaki collection, aren’t they?” Kakashi asked. “Everything here was supposed to be lost years ago.” 

“Precisely.” 

“And that’s great and everything,” Naruto said, “but I thought there were like mystical things that would help me control the Fox here. Not homework.” 

“There are,” Minato said, gesturing to the stone door at the opposite end of the library. “That’s further on.” 

“Oh good! Let’s go!” 

“Perhaps not just yet,” Minato hesitated. 

“I knew it. It’s always homework, you know.” 

“Naruto, if you master the exercises that we’ll be practicing when we go deeper, I am going to give you the power to control the seal that keeps Kurama captive. You will be able to tighten it and trap him deeper or loosen it when you want to use more of his chakra. Eventually, there may come a time when you even release it and share your body with him perfectly to achieve the ultimate shared strength, though you will not be able to maintain that state indefinitely. Don’t you think it might be wise to learn a little bit about Sealing Jutsu before that?” 

“Sure, Dad, but I’m just no good at books.” 

“Try just one book,” Minato promised, taking one of the children’s primers from the first group of shelves. It was barely a hundred pages and written for children even younger than Naruto: the absolute basics of Sealing Jutsu. “And you can ask me about anything you don’t understand—even if you are only uncertain about it.” 

“That’s not so bad,” Naruto agreed. “I’ll do my best!” He took the book and settled into one of the study carrels at the front of the room. 

“Any recommendations for me, Sensei?” Kakashi asked. “I’m pretty grounded in the basics, but I still need to draw the complete seal in blood or ink before I activate it—a pretty involved process—and I could use improvement.” 

“At that level there’s no escaping a thorough grounding in theory,” Minato said cheerfully. “Yuki Uzumaki has an excellent treatise that broadly covers most of what you need to know to start drawing the seal mentally instead of physically. Ah, here it is.” The book Kakashi wanted was over a thousand pages and hand written. He accepted it with only marginally more enthusiasm than Naruto had shown. 

“I assume I can also ask questions,” he said ironically. 

“Ha! I’m not your teacher anymore,” Minato protested facetiously, pushing Kakashi to a different carrel. “A genius can figure things out for himself.” 

For himself, Minato selected five of the more in depth theoretical books. Three were a series that dealt with the nature of space-time as it related to barrier, sealing, and teleportation jutsu respectively. The other two each answered a different question about a particular quirk in sealing jutsu—one covered sealing in icy salt water and the other dealt with sealing a living human in a way that did not result in the subject’s eventual demise. Minato wasn’t particularly looking forward to the research notes on that one. Then, feeling as though he was being a little too self-indulgent, he added an early history about the founding of Eddy Village to read if he had time. He didn’t expect to get to it—doubtless Naruto would finish his reading well before Minato even made it through his first book—but he felt he should make the attempt anyway. Naruto probably had questions about the history of his clan, and Minato wasn’t really in a position to answer them. 

Minato acknowledged that he was a bit of a hedonist. Oh, he paid no attention to his clothing, the furnishings of a room, or the food he ate—unless it was Kushina’s home cooking—but he enjoyed the finer things in life nonetheless. Books were the one indulgence that he could not resist. When Minato found a good book, he fell into it. Fiction like Jiraiya-sensei’s _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_ was the ultimate luxury, but fact was a no less gratifying place to lose himself, it was simply more justifiable. If Naruto or Kakashi needed his help, they would ask for it. Until that happened, Minato allowed himself to delve as deeply as he cared into the work that would, in the end, help him become a stronger shinobi. 

When Minato finished the history—which had been a little dry, written as it was in an older, more formal style—he stood and stretched his arms. His back was a little cramped from sitting so long and he took a moment to be surprised that Naruto hadn’t interrupted him with a single question. Of course, a brief glance around the room explained that easily. Naruto was slouched over his own desk asleep with his face pillowed on the open book. At least Kakashi was still reading, but when Minato looked a little closer, the book he had given his friend was closed and resigned to a back corner of the desk in his carrel. Kakashi was reading one of Jiraiya-sensei’s newer, less moral novels. Minato shook Naruto’s shoulder gently. 

“Is it lunchtime?” the boy asked sleepily. 

“Closer to dinner,” Kakashi said, closing his own book. 

Minato noted that Naruto had only read five pages. His son, seeing his expression, was quick to defend himself. 

“I really did try! I read and read and read, but it was so boring that I would fall asleep. Then, when I woke up, I tried again, you know! But it was still boring so I fell asleep again.” 

“I’m sorry, Naruto. I shouldn’t have pushed you to do this. You did tell me you weren’t a reader.” It was completely illogical to be disappointed that his son didn’t share his interest. Minato had known from the start that the boy took after Kushina. 

“I learn better with my body,” the boy said, clearly feeling like he had failed somehow. Minato tried his most cheerful, reassuring smile. 

“Well, then I wouldn’t worry about it! You don’t really need to understand how the jutsu works to control your own seal; I just thought it might be useful information for you to have. If you and Kakashi are both hungry, we can head back up to our camp now and get something to eat. Let me just put these books away.”

Minato gathered up his own books in addition to the one he’d taken from Naruto. When he moved to pick up Kakashi’s, he saw a piece of paper next to it with a neatly written list of questions. From the list, it was clear that Kakashi had in fact finished a very careful reading of the book. 

“You really could have asked me,” Minato said. “I was only teasing earlier.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt. You were having too much fun.” 

Minato blushed. “Well, regarding the trans-dimensional nature of sealing an animate creature or object, you’re absolutely right, the sinusoidal technique is too simplistic. Hikaru Uzumaki actually has a fascinating ten-volume treatise on the topic. It’s over here somewhere.”

“Um, but I’m done now, right Dad? I can go back to our camp and start lunch, right?” 

“Of course,” Minato said. 

“We’ll all go up,” Kakashi said firmly. “If these lights are dependent on the sun, we’re about to lose it. We can come back down tomorrow.” 

Minato wasn’t particularly surprised to have lost a day reading—though he was certain that the last time it had happened was years before he became the Hokage—but he felt guilty about it. Clearly Naruto was not at all the type to do the same. Minato felt he should do something to make amends for his error, but he didn’t know what to offer. 

“Say, Naruto,” Kakashi said as they exited the tunnel into the late afternoon sunlight. “Why don’t we practice some taijutsu and let your dad worry about supper?” 

“Really? Sure! You won’t read or anything?” 

Kakashi shrugged. “That depends on whether or not you can keep me on my toes.”

“Hah! You’ll regret that Kakashi-sensei! I’ve really improved since the last time we fought, you know!” 

Yet again, Minato found that he was acutely grateful to Kakashi for a favor that probably couldn’t be repaid. He smiled softly. It wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning Minato decided not to wake the others and instead listened to the heavy rain against the stone ceiling as he waited for them to rise on their own; he suspected it would result in a happier Naruto. He didn’t have to wait very long. Less than a minute after dawn, Kakashi woke. He rose silently and looked over at Minato before exiting the shelter. It was an invitation, but the rain was discouraging. Following only to the doorway, Minato watched Kakashi begin a routine kata. After a minute or two, he felt guilty and lazy, so he braved the morning rain to join his friend. About an hour later Naruto woke up, just as the sun came out to warm the adult shinobi before they went down into the cool seaside caves. 

Without any prompting, Naruto cheerfully counted out the code to open the wall so that they could enter the library. Minato felt a small surge of pride that the boy remembered the code so accurately. 

“We’re not going to read more today, are we?” 

“No,” Minato promised. “Let’s head straight through.” 

The stone door was much heavier than the wooden one. Any member of the Uzumaki Clan could access the library, but only a shinobi could go deeper. The trio followed the tunnel down until it opened into an enormous cavern. Naruto was far more impressed than he had been with the library. 

“Oh, wow!” 

The cavern was full of clear crystal quartz. The stones ranged in size, some connected the floor to a ceiling that was almost three times as tall as Kakashi, while most of the jagged crystals growing from every visible surface were no more than knee height. Though they were not particularly sharp, it would have been difficult to navigate the cave had not the Uzumaki Clan polished a winding path to be as smooth and flawless as glass. Those same predecessors had also chosen which crystals to illuminate with the same association jutsu that lit the library to extraordinary affect. Kakashi gave a low whistle. 

“I forgot how beautiful this was,” Minato agreed softly. 

They walked slowly, appreciating the view and the way the light bounced among the astoundingly clear crystals. At the center of the room was a perfect pillar, pointing to the ceiling and almost reaching it. Each of the six perfectly equal sides was as long as Naruto lying down, which the boy did immediately and energetically to measure it. 

"This is huge, you know! Did the people from Eddy Village build this?" 

"It would be more accurate to say that they built Eddy Village because of this," Minato said. 

"I totally get that! It's really cool, you know!"

"It's a little better than cool," Minato promised. "This is the first of five mysteries that will help you master Kurama." 

"Really? How?" 

"Gazing into this crystal allows a person to meet their inner self. Before you can control the demon within you, you must master your whole self." 

"Oh, um, okay. So I just have to look?"

"There's a little meditation involved. All three of us must do this before we can travel further, so why don't I go first and you can watch me. It might be comforting to understand that what you encounter while meditating has no physical effects." 

Minato sat down on the smooth path within arm's reach of the crystal. He crossed his legs and looked deeply at his ghostlike reflection mirrored in the depths. It did not take long. 

The man who walked out of the crystal was not Minato's reflection. His chest was wrapped in fresh, white bandages, but he had dozens of other wounds varying in severity that were completely untreated. The worst of it seemed to be his wrists, both of which were cut practically to the bone and bleeding as he limped toward Minato on what was clearly a broken leg. Minato caught him as he fell and helped him to the sofa. 

“I’ll get some bandages,” he promised, rushing to the medicine cabinet. 

“I don’t need them,” his inner self protested. “I deserve far worse than this.” 

Minato ignored him and began wrapping his wrists tightly, trying to staunch the bleeding. 

“You should just lie down and die,” the black eyed, bruised, and bleeding Minato said, pulling his hands away. “You failed her. And it’s not like life is all that worth living without her in it.” 

Minato had been expecting this really; he’d come armed.

“Remember Shikaku?” 

“I’m you, remember? He’s the father of that lazy smarty pants who insulted Naruto to pick a fight with me.” 

“Come now,” Minato said, managing to get a hold on one of the reluctant patient’s wrists. “Remember Shikaku?” 

“Fine, I remember not talking to Kushina for a week after she kissed him.” 

“In my defense, I’d only managed to kiss her once myself at that point.” 

“It helped that she was so angry with him when she did it.” 

“Remember what she said?” 

“That if he let himself pine away and die after Mina he was dishonoring everything she’d wanted in her life. And yes, I remember that met Shikamaru’s mother not long after. So fine, Kushina wouldn’t have wanted me to suffer.” The squirming man stilled and allowed Minato to bandage him. “Still, I am suffering; a little first aid isn’t going to fix this.” 

“Kushina’s death? No, I wouldn’t expect it to.”

“You know these aren’t all from that.”

Minato finished bandaging his wrists and moved on to the head wound. 

“I know.”

“It has been thirteen years, after all. If you’d come to see me then, the chest wound might have been hers. I definitely wouldn’t have had arms.” 

“I know.”

“Instead I have all these other injuries.”

“I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’d have done the same thing.” 

“Then we’re in accord?” 

The injured inner Minato reached up to wrap his arms around his counterpart. “Thank Kakashi for the bandages for me,” he said. Only as it vanished into clear crystal did Minato realize that this time his inner world had been represented by Kakashi’s house. 

“How long?” he asked, blinking up at Kakashi. 

“About ten minutes,” his friend answered. 

“When are you going to start?” Naruto demanded. 

“I’m finished actually. That’s all there is to it, physically. I hope you’ll remember that when you are making the attempt.” 

“All right! That looked super easy!” Naruto said, taking his father’s place. “I’ll do my best!” 

“Good luck,” Minato said. 

Wordlessly, Kakashi moved to a different facet of the crystal and sat down. 

Expecting the first attempt to reconcile with the inner self to take considerably more time than his own practically routine meeting, Minato made himself comfortable and watched over his son and his former student. Kakashi almost immediately stilled, unsurprisingly entering the state of meditation necessary almost immediately. Naruto was a different story. He fidgeted for nearly an hour before his spine straightened and his eyes focused, obviously encountering the mirror image of himself. After that, all Minato could do was wait and appreciate the beauty of the cavern. 

Naruto was the first to come out of his trance. He fell backward suddenly before bouncing to his feet and looking around excitedly. 

“Where’d he go? What happened? Dad? You weren’t here a minute ago!” 

“You were meditating, Naruto. As I said, none of what you experienced happened physically. Kakashi is still doing the same.”

Naruto followed Minato’s gesture. Then he went over to Kakashi and started poking him. He waived a hand in front of his teacher’s face before shoving hard at the older man’s shoulder. Minato pulled him away when he started trying to pull down the jonin’s facemask. 

“Trust me, it’s a trance.” 

“Right.”

“I take it yours didn’t go very well?”

“I couldn’t beat him! He has all the same moves I do! I need to train more or something, you know!” 

“So you fought your inner self?” It wasn’t particularly surprising. Kushina had admitted to doing the same thing when she’d first attempted the test of the crystal. 

“Wasn’t I supposed to? He was really mean and said that the Nine Tails liked him a lot because of all his hatred and stuff. He totally deserves to have his butt kicked!” 

“Hatred, eh?”

“Yeah! I didn’t like that guy at all! He said all kinds of mean stuff about the people from Leaf Village! Plus he was nothing but a no good copycat when we fought! He used all the same jutsu I did and he cheated, too!”

“Did he?”

“Well, only by copying my moves, but that counts! I’ll start again right now, and beat him good this time!”

“Ah, Naruto, perhaps it would be better to wait until tomorrow to try again. Don’t you want a little time to mull over the test and think about strategy?” 

“Uh, yeah. I mean, strategy isn’t really one of my strong points, but—“ 

“All the more reason to give it some thought.” 

“Well then, first thing tomorrow! That’s when I’ll beat that guy into a pulp!” 

“You’ll be returning alone,” Kakashi said. Distracted by Naruto, Minato hadn’t noticed when Kakashi woke from his own trance, but he didn’t have the look of someone who had mastered his demons. 

“Oh? You succeeded then?” he inquired politely. 

“No,” Kakashi said, “but I won’t be continuing.” 

“You couldn’t beat yourself either, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked excitedly. 

“It’s different for everyone, Naruto. They might not have fought.”

“No. I hit him a couple of times, but we didn’t fight. If all I needed to do was kill him, I’d have finished in less than five minutes.”

“Well you don’t need to be mean about it,” Naruto sulked. 

“I’m not bragging, Naruto. You may achieve what you need to, and I cannot.” 

“You’re giving up? No way, Kakashi-sensei!” 

“Denial is unbecoming, Naruto,” he said, turning to lead the way out of the crystal cave. “I’ll spend the rest of the trip in the library.” 

“So if you didn’t fight him, what happened?”

Kakashi didn’t answer.

“What about you, Dad? Did you fight your double?”

“Ah, it’s a little different once you’ve mastered the test once,” Minato hesitated. “If you believe you need to fight your hatred and subdue it, then that is probably what you must do. The first time I attempted this test I did fight myself, in a way.” 

“What do you mean ‘in a way’?”

“Well, we argued. He said I wasn’t worthy of proceeding for one reason or another, and then I would have to leave, research others who had gone deeper into the caves, and come back with an exception. It took me two weeks to win the argument, and then only because Kushina helped me.” 

“How did she help, Dad?” 

“She said, ‘You’re worthy because I say you’re worthy.’ That was that. My inner self couldn’t argue with it.” Which, now that Minato thought about it, said a great deal about a probably unhealthy sense of dependence, but he had grown since then. 

“Huh. So was yours more like that, Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi didn’t answer. 

“I mean, if your inner self didn’t want to fight the way mine did, what did he want to do?”

Kakashi ignored him.

“Did you play shoji?” 

“No.”

“Did you have a staring contest? Hey, if you did have a staring contest with yourself, would you get cross-eyed? Was he a mirror image of you or just you?”

Minato let Naruto pester Kakashi as they left the caves and returned to their camp. Kakashi either didn’t rise to the boy’s insults or answered them with short cutting words. Meanwhile, Minato debated whether it was too personal of an intrusion for him to inquire about Kakashi’s experience. When Naruto finally went to sleep, he tentatively broached the subject.

“If you did have any questions, I would do my best to answer them,” he offered.

Kakashi stared up at the ceiling. He didn’t pretend to be asleep, but Minato wasn’t sure he would answer.

“I don’t have any questions, Sensei. To pass the test I have to accept him, right? He represents my deepest innermost feelings.”

“Ah. Yes.” 

“He’s weak.” 

“That’s a common thing to face. Most people’s innermost feelings have to do with feelings of inadequacy or buried flaws. To accept them and move on is to achieve the peace required for true mental strength.” 

“I know my limits, Minato. What he wants me to accept isn’t possible.” 

“Kakashi.” 

“Sensei, I believe my time this trip will be better spent studying in the library. It isn’t as though I could improve my skills with the things you will be teaching Naruto.” 

Minato didn’t argue with Kakashi. He respected his friend’s judgment. Over the next three days as Naruto fought with his anger again and again, Kakashi remained behind in the library to read. Naruto was getting frustrated with his own lack of progress, and even more frustrated by what he viewed as Kakashi giving up. Frankly, it was something of a struggle for Minato not to be disappointed as well, but he hoped it didn’t show. At least he didn’t pester the man the way Naruto did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously this is the Falls of Truth, while the Cave of the Crystals is loosely taken from Chihuahua, Mexico. Though those crystals are selenite and without mystical properties. My working theory is that the steps to controlling a jinchuriki remain the same, but each village has a different way of helping the host through that process. I'm basing this on the way Gaara controls Shukaku with clearly defined moves and steps that the rest of the Suna delegation understood during the Chunin Exams, and also on "Because I Want It To And This Is My Fanfic." So, you know, onward. I hope readers find these tests sufficiently different from the ones on Turtle Island, although they need to accomplish a similar task in the end.


	21. Chapter 21

Finally, on the fifth day, Naruto passed the test. 

“You were wrong, Dad! I didn’t need to fight him at all! Kakashi-sensei! I don’t know if Dad gave you any big hints, but they’re wrong and you should ignore them!”

“Oh?” Kakashi asked, looking up from his book. He didn’t seem to be anything other than politely interested in the progress of Naruto’s training. He certainly didn’t show any sign of wanting to attempt the test again himself. 

“Yeah! Inner me wanted to fight, but I didn’t have to, you know! I needed to believe in myself and that I can be the good person my friends think I am! Inner me just needed a hug, you know!” 

Minato stopped wondering about Kakashi immediately. The room was suddenly full of rushing white noise. Everything was wrong. 

“Naruto.”

“Yeah, Dad? Woah! What’s with that face? Aren’t you happy I passed?” 

“I’m. You are aware that my recovery is not yet entirely complete, and that I may do things that do not make particular sense to you?”

“Uh, yeah. You feel like beating someone up again? Because it’s just me and Kakashi-sensei, you know.” 

“It’s not. I won’t. I just need to—“ Minato grabbed his son and pulled him into a tight embrace. Naruto relaxed immediately. As his own heart rate slowed, Minato noticed Kakashi pulling his forehead protector back down over his Sharingan. 

“That’s okay, Dad. You can buy me more ice cream the next time we see a place that sells it, too. I don’t mind.” He patted his father’s back comfortingly. “I don’t mind the hugs, either, although maybe next time if we could do it someplace where Kakashi-sensei is less likely to tease me about it, that would be better.” 

Minato finally got hold of himself and pulled away. “Kakashi isn’t the type to tease you because you have a mentally disturbed father,” he said. 

“No, I am.”

“Kakashi.”

“However, it would be entirely out of jealousy, so we can circumvent it. I need a Minato-hug, too.” Kakashi pulled Minato into a quick embrace that lasted almost exactly five seconds, then released him. “Now we’re even,” he said to Naruto. 

“Um, right! Anyway, I passed the test! We should celebrate! I’ll make Mushroom Hotpot! Sakura made it for us on a mission one time—remember Kakashi-sensei—it was really delicious! I’m sure I can find all the ingredients in the woods around here, you know!” He dashed up the stairs before either adult could reply. 

“Are we really going to eat wild mushrooms gathered by Naruto?”

“Well, I died for him once. I suppose I’m willing to do it again.” 

Kakashi went very still. “You are, aren’t you?” he asked, not meeting Minato’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry. It was a terrible joke. Lets go help Naruto before he poisons us all.” 

“Of course.”

Kakashi didn’t bring the matter up again, but Minato could feel the eye on him whenever he wasn’t looking. He cursed himself silently for even trying to ease the tension after an episode like that one. Of course it had failed; Minato’s death was a sensitive subject for Kakashi. Minato was a callous, inconsiderate heel for reminding his friend of it. On top of that, he could tell that his feelings of remorse and Kakashi’s brooding silence were putting a damper on Naruto’s party spirit when the boy suggested they go to sleep less than three minutes after sunset. 

“I’m not tired,” Kakashi said. 

“Oh! Well, you and I could spar a little, if you wanted. I bet if I use a whole bunch of clones I can give you a real work out!” 

“Probably true,” Kakashi lied indulgently, “but what I should have said is ‘I’m not sleepy.’ I think I’ll stay awake tonight, keep watch.” 

“Do you sense something?” Minato hadn’t had a similar premonition of danger, but his own instincts still weren’t quite up to par, clearly. 

“Not at all, the opposite in fact. I thought it might be a good night for you to drink your tea. If you’re going deeper into the caves tomorrow you might need your strength. Not to mention my theory that your moment of instability today could potentially have something to do with the fact that you haven’t slept properly in a week.” 

“I can’t. If something were to happen, I would be nothing but a burden. Likely I wouldn’t even wake up.” 

“Dad, Kakashi-sensei is right. A shinobi needs to get a good night’s rest, you know!” 

“I didn’t even bring the tea along.” 

Kakashi pulled a packet out of his flack jacket and waved it in what was obviously supposed to be a tempting fashion. 

“There was a reason I didn’t bring it myself, Kakashi.” 

“Please, Dad. Kakashi-sensei and I can handle any wild animals or bandits or whatever until you wake up. We’re both pretty strong, you know!” 

“And if it’s the Akatsuki? I’m sorry, but I absolutely won’t take the tea.” It wasn’t as though Minato was particularly fond of not sleeping. He thought maybe he could swallow his embarrassment in light of so much concern. “However, there was another method that did allow me a deeper sleep once. Perhaps a compromise?” 

“What’s the method?” Kakashi asked with his usual skepticism. 

“Ah, that is, Pakkun was a great asset to me those first days.”

No one spoke, obviously wanting Minato to continue with the explanation of how, like any child with a nightmare, he didn’t particularly want to sleep alone. 

“It’s only that frogs, being cold blooded animals, aren’t helpful in the same manner. I attempted to use them many times to the same effect when Naruto and I traveled to the Land of Lightning, but it was of no avail. One doesn’t have the same unconscious awareness of an amphibian.” 

“Pakkun reported having to wake you from three different nightmares.” Kakashi was angry. Whether it was at the incompleteness of his hound’s report, Minato’s earlier inconsiderate behavior, this new proposed imposition, or something else entirely was indeterminable, but Kakashi was obviously angry. 

“Ah, yes, but it was considerably more restful than my usual sleep.” 

Kakashi slammed his hand into the ground for a summoning jutsu. He was definitely angry. 

“Hey, boss,” Pakkun said, lethargically scratching his chin with a back paw. “What do you need?”

“You’re bunking with Minato tonight.” 

“Uh, okay.” The little pug said, glancing sideways from Minato to Kakashi. “Before that, boss, you mind if I step outside for a bit. You interrupted me in the middle of some business earlier, if you take my meaning. Nice night for it, though. Why don’t you join me?” 

“That really is the whole mission, Pakkun,” Kakashi said coldly. 

“Sure, boss. It just seems like you’re a little pissed off for a simple request like that.” 

“It’s fine. The only thing I’m bothered by is the tremendous imposition of needing to summon you.”

“Sure, boss. So I’ll just bunk in with Lord Minato, yeah. This is our sleeping bag, right?” 

“I mean,” he continued, in case Minato didn’t already understand, “I only summon you every couple of days or so to check in. It’s really inconvenient to ask you to hang around and nap. Why, it’s worse than asking you to fight!” 

“Kakashi! I’m sorry, all right. I should have asked sooner, probably on that mission with Asuma and the rug rats; I’m sorry. It just—it isn’t easy for me to be always asking for help.” 

One of the nice things about Kakashi was that he didn’t hold a grudge. Minato watched his anger evaporate like the morning rain and his face melt into a gentle smile. 

“What’s there to be sorry for? I thought I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight and now I can. As far as I’m concerned this is great.” He pulled off his flack jacket and slipped into his own bedroll. 

“You’ll really be able to sleep with Pakkun, Dad?” 

“If he doesn’t mind,” Minato said, purposefully misinterpreting the question. “I know summoning animals aren’t pets.” 

“Not at all,” the dog said. “Just don’t hog the blankets.”

“Good,” Naruto said. He didn’t seem at all upset about his father’s deflection. Perhaps Minato wasn’t the only one not feeling equal to yet another emotional scene. “Then I’m going to turn in, too. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, you know!” 

“Indeed we do,” Minato agreed, lying down in his own bedroll and lifting the cover for Pakkun. The small dog curled against his side easily and added a goodnight of his own to the soft litany that followed. 

It worked. Pakkun kicked Minato awake twice just before the worst part of a nightmare, so he was able to fall back to sleep without the usual trouble. He still had the nightmares, of course. He was still so cold and so beset by danger, but Pakkun was there, small and warm, and it was a little more tolerable than it usually was. Then a hand grabbed him. 

Kakashi had the kunai out of Minato’s hand before he was even fully awake. Naruto’s blue eyes were wide with shock. 

“As I was about to say, Naruto. That’s a bad idea.” 

“I’m sorry, Dad. You were having a nightmare.” 

“I—no—I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

“Breakfast?” Kakashi offered cheerfully. He was trying to distract and break the tension, one of the changes in his personality that Minato had come to appreciate. Usually, it would save Minato from attempting some disastrous joke. In this case, however, Minato could not allow himself to be deterred. Clearly he was not getting better as quickly as he had assumed before coming on this trip. There was only one solution. 

“No, Minato, we’re not hiding your weapons,” Kakashi said more seriously. Reading Minato’s mind was a new personality trait that was generally less appealing and down right annoying in this case. “Naruto now knows better than to wake you up by touching you, and you can’t imagine there’s a situation where you’d attack us while conscious.” 

“I’m sorry,” Naruto repeated. “I thought Pakkun was supposed to keep you from having bad dreams.” 

“I’m not a holy sage,” the dog said, yawning and arching his back. “When he’s tense enough that it wakes me, I wake him.” 

“So how come you don’t attack him, then?”

“Because Pakkun is already touching him. It isn’t an attack.” 

“And thank you for that, Pakkun. I slept better than I have all week.” 

“You definitely slept more!” Naruto said, regaining his usual cheer. “This is the first time you haven’t been up hours before everyone else, you know!” 

“I am aware.” 

“So you’re ready to go deeper in the caves today, right? We can get on with the really hard training, you know! I’m ready!” 

“Of course,” Minato agreed, smiling himself. 

“I think I’ll join you after all,” Kakashi said, looking down at his rice. 

“What?” Naruto demanded, tripping and falling to the ground in his surprise before leaping to his feet and pointing at Kakashi accusingly. “If you wanted to come, you should have been training with me this whole time! I don’t want to wait around in the library for you, you know!” 

“Five minutes, Naruto,” Kakashi said with a dismissive click of his tongue. “It’s on the way.”

“It won’t be five minutes! It took me five days!”

“Trust me.”

Naruto continued to pester Kakashi throughout their morning preparations and after Pakkun was dismissed. Even as the trio entered the crystal cavern, he insisted that Minato make a ruling about how unfair it was to make Naruto wait. 

“Ah. Perhaps Kakashi is right. It might be better that you and I do not continue alone.” 

Kakashi’s sudden glance was sharper than the surrounding crystals. 

“That isn’t why I’m coming along, Minato.” 

“Ah. No, of course not.” 

“Really, Minato. I decided this last night.” 

“It doesn’t matter what you decided or why!” Naruto said. “You can’t just sit down and pass the test like that, you know! You had as much trouble with it as I did, you know!” 

“Ah, but I have your shining example, Naruto.”

“Kakashi-sensei!”

“I’ve had the same amount of time with the problem as you have, Naruto. And as you only realized yesterday that you didn’t need to fight your hatred, I realized last night that my inner self was weak for a reason. So that I can trust my friends to be strong.” 

Minato remembered the peculiar way Kakashi had looked at him when he had joked about dying for Naruto a second time. He wondered if Kakashi’s long silence hadn’t been anger so much as thoughtfulness. One would certainly be more in keeping with his character than the other. 

True to his word, once Kakashi sat down he focused immediately into the crystal and within five minutes he rose wearing an expression of placid serenity on his face. 

“Faker!” 

"Naruto. You know Kakashi isn't a liar."

"Of course he is! He lies all the time about everything, you know! No way was this that easy for him!” 

"Well, if he is lying now he is likely to drown when we continue on. I doubt he'd be inconsiderate enough to cause me yet another mental break over something so trivial." 

"It didn't come easily to me, Naruto. I told you, I thought about this last night. Gazing into a magic crystal isn't the only way to come to terms with your feelings."

“So you were still working on it? When we thought you’d quit?” 

“Unfortunately yes. I wanted to forget about the problem, but it isn’t the sort of thing you can ignore once it’s brought to your attention.”

“I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, you know.” 

Kakashi sighed. “The darkness in your heart is your anger, right? As much as you want to be a hero and a Hokage, you still feel angry sometimes about the way you were treated and you hate the people responsible.” 

“Well, yes, but I’ve decided to be someone my dad can be proud of, you know! So not anymore!” 

Kakashi smiled softly. “Good for you. The darkness in my heart isn’t anger, though. I dealt with that a long time ago. I dealt with my hatred, too, even though it was a little different from yours. The darkness that is still there—the thing that made my inner self so weak—is fear. The truth is, Naruto, I have just as little as you do and it’s no one’s fault but my own. I’ve lived my life so terrified of losing that I probably have fewer real friends than you do at this point. Worse still, I let everything that happens confirm how right I am to be afraid. When Sasuke left me as a student, I let go of you and Sakura as well, hoping that it would be enough to keep you both from a similar fate.” 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto’s face was a well of emotion, his eyes beading with tears. 

“It was fear. Not that Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade aren’t stronger than me, or better teachers, but that isn’t why I let the two of you go to them. I needed to give up my students as soon as I realized they were something new I could lose. That was my test—my darkness—I had to accept how weak that fear makes me. So I did.” 

“Kakashi-sensei!” The tears spilled from Naruto in an undignified sob. 

“I’ve ruined it now, haven’t I,” Kakashi said mournfully. “You’ll never think I’m cool and aloof again, will you?” 

“Don’t worry,” Minato said, jostling Kakashi’s shoulder with his own. “I never thought you were cool.” 

“Shall we?” the jonin asked, gesturing for Minato to take the lead. He did, ruffling Naruto’s hair gently as the group moved on.


	22. Chapter 22

The crystal path, smooth and clear as glass, continued out beyond the cavern of the same material. The walls of the tunnel winding deeper into the earth were ordinary stone, but the quartz in the path itself had been associated with the sun gathering stone above, so the passageway was illuminated from beneath. Strange shadows followed the trio, dancing on the ceiling as their bodies blocked the bright light. When they arrived at the fork in the way, the shining path continued fluidly to the right. One needed to be fairly alert to even realize that the unlit path to the left existed. 

“Which way, Dad?”

Minato took a moment to feel proud. “Both, eventually,” he answered. “We follow the main path first, though. The left path ends in the fifth and final test. There’s a room there that only you can enter. You’ll take what you can of the Nine Tails chakra there. That is only for jinchuriki.”

“You mean this path isn’t just for jinchuriki?”

“No. The Uzumaki Clan has always been very long lived. There have only been two other jinchuriki for the Nine Tails before you, though their lives spanned the whole history of Leaf Village.”

“Really?”

“Yes, meaning these caves weren’t actually used solely for the training of jinchuriki. What we’re doing now is something more like the Uzumaki chunin exam.”

“Really?”

“Well, they didn’t actually have the same sort of ranking system that is popular among the hidden villages now, but yes. Small groups of young people would come here together and prove that they were ready for adulthood by undergoing the trials we now attempt. It may even be a superior system to our competitive one, because it promotes friendship with very individual trials. There is no possibility for anyone to be carried through the trials by a strong team as often happens with our preliminaries. Also, maturity and ability aren’t measured solely by winning a fight.” 

“Oh. So what do we have to do?”

“Well first, we have to take off our clothes.” 

“What?”

Minato gestured to the stone benches and shelves set up where the tunnel opened into a slightly larger area that ended abruptly at the edge of a vast, black underground lake. 

“The first test is of inner strength, because that is the most important quality for a shinobi, but the next is all physical. The stone in this part of the cave network has chakra absorbing properties. It is almost impossible to complete a jutsu here before all of the chakra you’re using for it is sucked away. Moreover, trying to do something like walk across this water using chakra would drain you completely. It could kill you. Even someone who is only leaking a little chakra due to emotional distress is at risk of drowning here. That’s why it’s so important to complete the test of the crystal hall before coming here.” 

“Yeah, no, that’s great, but naked?” 

“It is forbidden to use any tools, either here or at the next challenges. Everyone must enter the lake carrying nothing. If you’re shy, I can explain it and you can go alone.” 

“No, that’s not—we’re all guys, it’s just like a bath—that’s not the problem!” 

“So what’s the problem?”

Naruto’s face was an alarming shade of red. “Nothing, I guess.” 

“Naruto?”

“As you said, Kushina brought you here,” Kakashi explained, the laugh in his voice was obvious. It was Minato’s turn to blush brightly. 

“Ah. Yes, well. She just told me about this. That is, she certainly didn’t come with me. Also. Ah. We were engaged at the time. That is, she didn’t remove any of her own clothing, naturally.” Being Kushina, she had insisted on remaining while Minato removed his own clothes. She claimed that it was necessary to ensure that he didn’t cheat, but he had reason to suspect that was a lie. She’d also slapped his bottom and told him that she’d needed to find a way to inspect the goods before they were married since he was such a prude. It had been mortifying, but the way she’d put her arms around him for a kiss had made him feel like the luckiest man alive. 

“Kinky, Sensei.” 

“You’re such a pervert, Kakashi-sensei! If Dad says nothing happened, then nothing did!” 

“Right,” Minato agreed, trying to take control of the situation again. “So, if no one has any objections to continuing together, we should get started. This would be far too dangerous to attempt at night when our destination on the other side of the lake will be unlit.” 

“Right! We’re burning daylight, you know!” Naruto started pulling his clothes off in haphazard haste. As Minato followed suit, he couldn’t help noticing how gracefully Kakashi disarmed himself and slipped out of his own clothing. They were a study in opposites. Naruto, the energetic boy, was soft, round, and happy. Kakashi, on the other hand, was all wiry muscle and scar tissue. With the dark water behind him, his fair skin seemed to be made of moonlight, perfect and untouchable. Minato felt an electric jolt deep in his stomach—the astounding twist of arousal. Alarmed, he pushed it aside. As he had stated only minutes before, emotional turmoil was incredibly dangerous here, and dissecting that reaction would almost certainly create it. He focused on the important things. 

“This is going to be especially difficult for you.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice not opening it when I need to,” Kakashi said, placing his forehead protector on the neatly folded pile of his clothes. “I should be fine.”

“Yes, but if you should on accident—“ 

“You’re a good swimmer, you can tow me back,” he said cheerfully unconcerned. 

“So not really like a hot spring at all,” Naruto said. He seemed sad suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Naruto?”

“Oh. Nothing. Let’s get going.” 

“Naruto, please tell me what’s wrong. This is a dangerous undertaking. If you aren’t feeling equal to it—“ 

Kakashi lips quirked in a gentle smile for Minato’s son and his brain stopped working for a moment. It was incredibly inconvenient. “Tell you what, Naruto,” Kakashi said, “When Sasuke comes home we can have Team Seven over for tea or something.” 

“Kakashi?” 

“His mask,” Naruto said, with a brave smile. “I wasn’t sure you realized, Kakashi-sensei.”

“Please. The three of you were obvious.” 

“I was sure he was hiding something horrible under there,” Naruto explained to his father. “I mean, he’s got the Sharingan under his forehead protector, so you gotta wonder, you know? But you just look normal, Kakashi-sensei.” 

“Thank you for that ringing endorsement, Naruto.” 

Minato very carefully did not say that he thought Kakashi was handsome. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help thinking it. 

“Why do you wear that mask, Kakashi-sensei?” 

“To keep bugs out of my mouth when I take a nap,” Kakashi lied. 

“Fascinating as Kakashi’s face might be,” Minato interrupted, “If you do feel equal to attempting this, we should get started soon.”

“Yeah, Dad. I’m ready!” 

The water was even colder than Minato remembered. He eased into it tentatively. Naruto, of course, did a cannonball and then started thrashing around complaining of the cold. Kakashi waited until they were both completely in the water before executing a graceful dive. Without even lifting his face from the water once, he began to swim to the other side as straight as an arrow. Minato felt another jolt of electricity that he studiously ignored, ducking his head and following Naruto who seemed to be a competent swimmer. 

He realized his error quickly. Reaching an accord with his inner feelings and accepting them was all well and good. Clearly it had worked for Kakashi, who was skimming through the water like a silver fish. Naruto was also showing no sign of being weakened by the natural properties of the cave, so evidently he wasn’t leaking chakra. Unfortunately, in Minato’s case it didn’t matter if his inner self was discordant with his mind and desires or not. His inner self had been _bleeding_. Of course he was in emotional turmoil, and he had been foolish enough to believe that accepting it would be enough to quell it. He had a real problem. 

Kakashi was too far ahead to help. He was swimming with his eyes closed and tightly reining in his chakra, so he was unlikely to notice if Minato went under. Naruto was swimming more slowly and looking around every few strokes to make sure he was heading in the right direction, so he might notice something was wrong. Meaning Minato might have the option of pulling his son down with him when the exhaustion finally became too much. Actively thinking about the problem made it worse, and Minato could feel himself slowing drastically. He tried meditating, focusing in on his breathing and his swimming. If he could stabilize his chakra, he would be able to continue. Given that he hadn’t been able to truly stabilize his emotions in all of the months since his return, however, it seemed to be a lost cause. He had already crossed a quarter of the distance, and at the rate his chakra was draining he had no chance of making it the whole way without something to staunch the bleeding. 

It was foolish to continue, but it was selfish to stop. Whether or not Naruto and Kakashi turned back with him initially, Minato had failed to give them the rest of the instructions for this task. His son would have no choice but to turn back as well. Minato’s weakness would cost the jinchuriki a day of training, perhaps more. He didn’t want to pull his son down physically or metaphorically. He had to keep moving. 

Meditation couldn’t work, but distraction might. He thought back over the three part series he had read the week before. The question posed by the work was an interesting one: could space-time be quantified as a single entity in relation to jutsu? The mathematical argument had been fairly persuasive. Space and time could be quantified with a single variable in most cases when dealing with barrier, teleportation, and sealing jutsu. Moreover, it was generally most efficient to treat it that way. For stroke after stroke, Minato simply did the math. He pushed one arm into the water after the other and he kept moving. 

When Minato finally reached the other side, Kakashi was lounging gracefully at the edge of the lake, with one eye closed in a casual wink, dangling one foot in the water while he waited. Naruto was leaping up and down, shaking himself like a dog, and complaining that he couldn't tell the difference between the icy water and the cool air. Both of them knew something was wrong the moment Minato pulled himself out of the water. Kakashi was on his feet at once, catching Minato and steadying him before he fell. Naruto began panicking. 

"Dad! Are you okay?"

"Here, Minato, why don't you sit for a minute." 

"No, no. The hot spring," he managed, staggering forward against the weight of Kakashi's support. His friend obliged him, which was good, because Minato wasn't sure he could get back up again if he let himself sit. It was only a few dozen paces from the edge of the icy lake to the gently steaming hot spring, but every step was sheer agony. 

“Just a minute,” Kakashi said cajolingly. “Let’s just sit down for a minute and rest, okay?”

Minato didn’t have the breath to refuse again, so he simply shook his head, and continued stumbling forward. Kakashi kept a warm arm around his waist and didn’t put him down—which Minato appreciated—but he also stopped at the stone steps leading into the water. 

“It’ll shock your system, Minato,” he said hesitantly. “The water is too hot. You need a minute. I know it was cold, but you shouldn’t rush it. You need to warm up a little first.”

Without the strength to argue, Minato had no choice. He pushed away from his friend and fell into the pool. His leg hit the stairs hard and Kakashi had been completely correct about the heat of the water. It burned impossibly. Every muscle in his body shuddered and cramped in shock. Then, strong arms pulled him to the surface. 

“I should get him out of the water, right?” Naruto panicked, both of this arms wrapped around his father’s chest in a parody of a hug. 

“No,” Minato gasped, finally beginning to catch his breath. “Can’t you feel it?”

Kakashi, who had also leapt into the water after Minato without heeding his own advice, paused and cocked his head to one side. “The chakra drain isn’t happening here.” 

“No. The stone here in the spring is different. Plus, the water inhibits the effects of the rest of the cavern under the same principle by which the lake water was conducive to the drain.”

“Good to know you’re feeling well enough to lecture, Sensei.” Kakashi’s words were sarcastic, but the relief on his face was palpable. Minato could read so much more without the masks in the way. 

“What happened, Dad?” 

Naruto was still holding his father above water, so Minato pulled away gently and moved to sit exhaustedly against the wall of the pool. 

“I was very stupid.”

“Oh?”

“The chakra drain affects me,” Minato explained. “But it’s all right. We can rest here.” He closed his eyes and let his head loll back against the wall. “Just for a moment.”


	23. Chapter 23

Minato opened his eyes with a jolt. Naruto and Kakashi were both lazing near him in the small pool. Naruto had both of his eyes closed, but Kakashi was staring at Minato, unblinking. 

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yes. Stop wasting chakra." 

"Cranky. You should have slept more," Kakashi said, closing his Sharingan obligingly. 

"You shouldn't have let me sleep at all."

"I said that, you know! You're not supposed to fall asleep in a hot spring! It's dangerous! But Kakashi-sensei said we shouldn't wake you up, you know!"

"It was twenty minutes," Kakashi said blandly. "Were you really ready to continue on?"

Minato relaxed. "No. That's good. I thought I'd been wasting time, but you could probably stand to rest here for a while longer before continuing." 

"We could?" asked Kakashi.

"Ah. Yes. I don't believe I can complete the final leg of this test with you. The chakra drain would almost certainly cause me to endanger you both." 

"Well, you've done it before, you know! The chunin in Leaf Village only have to take that test once! You should just rest here while we do it!"

"That’s very wise, Naruto. I think I'll your advice." Minato looked at the quartz spheres illuminating the area. They were still shining brightly. It could not be later than mid afternoon. All that their little group needed to do was make it back to the far side of the lake before nightfall; there would be plenty of time. 

"So what do we do next? I'm not tired at all, you know!"

"Do you see that crevice there?" Minato gestured to the deep black split in the stone. From a distance it looked more like a cliff, the far side being much higher than the near one, but Minato knew from experience that it was very well lit when one was closer. 

"Yeah!"

"It is made of the same chakra absorbing rock as the rest of this cavern—our current resting place excepted—and climbing it will be even more difficult than swimming across the lake was, but that is what you must do. When you climb to the top of the far side of that cliff without using chakra or jutsu and inscribe your name on the obsidian wall using the chisel you'll find there, you will officially be a man of the Uzumaki Clan." 

"Cool! Bushy Brows would love this stuff! I can do it no problem!"

"Bushy Brows?"

"Rock Lee. He's Guy's student—you met him briefly in the village a few months ago—he can only use taijutsu."

"Interesting. Of course a shinobi who specialized that way would barely find this challenging, but the Uzumaki were always very much the opposite. As a clan, they were characterized by their long lives and massive chakra—even as the Uchiha were known for their ocular jutsu or the Inuzuka for their dogs—and I highly doubt anyone like that ever had cause to attempt this test." 

"Well I'm going to beat it just as easily as Bushy Brow would, you know! I do taijutsu training all the time!" 

"Time to live your words, then, Naruto," Kakashi said, rising out of the water. "I'm ready to go if you are." 

"Great! Let's go! You'll be okay, right Dad?"

“Sure. I promise not to fall asleep again.”

“Okay, good!” Naruto hopped easily onto the side of the pool. “We’ll be back super fast!” The boy turned to start running for the edge of the crevice. 

“Just don’t use any chakra!” Minato called after him, sharing a pointed look with Kakashi before his friend shrugged and followed at an easy, loping jog. 

Minato felt it again watching Kakashi run—the same surprising twinge of arousal. It was a problem, though he could not quite pinpoint why. Physical attraction was something that happened naturally, and not something that Minato had ever really been affected by. Of course, he had been in love with Kushina from practically the moment he started experiencing it. Attraction to anyone else had always been pointless—a distraction to be ignored—and therefore something without any power over him. He still loved her—he would always love her—but perhaps he was less insulated by that love than he had been in the past. Kushina wouldn’t want him to pine for her, so any attraction he felt now was something with potential. It was a new experience. 

That wasn’t the only reason for Minato to shy away from the feeling. He was only just managing basic things like sleeping and training with Naruto. A new emotional layer could complicate things for him in undesirable ways. After all, his judgment was still far from where it had been. He had nearly killed himself by believing he was well enough to attempt this trial. If he became emotionally volatile—something he had never been when in love with Kushina—over some random inclination, it could be truly dangerous for his family. This attraction he felt was quite probably a sign of his healing. He wasn’t blind to the fact that the first instance of arousal had happened after his first night of uninterrupted sleep. Still, he had been in enough hospitals to know that patients died in recovery just as often as they died in an operating room. 

He wasn’t particularly concerned about anything actually occurring as a result of his feelings for Kakashi, of course. For one thing, it was laughable to think that Kakashi would have any interest in his old, broken teacher. For another, just because he’d felt a fleeting physical response to Kakashi when his friend was naked and unmasked didn’t mean the feeling would continue to trouble him when they returned to the village. Most importantly, while Minato could see himself at some time in the far distant future settling down with someone like Kushina who would join his family and be a second parent for Naruto, he absolutely could not imagine himself enjoying a casual intimacy. Kakashi had been very clear about his attitude toward relationships and his complete lack of desire for one. If an encounter were to occur, it would not be repeated. Minato knew himself well enough to know he wouldn’t deal well with that at all. 

The only thing left to do was appreciate the little thrill he got watching Kakashi climb in the distance. Having decided that the feeling didn’t need to matter or mean anything, Minato found that it was a fairly enjoyable feeling to have. Too many of his feelings lately were wound up in anger and pain. A little lust could be nice. 

It was even nicer seeing Naruto and Kakashi reach the top of the far cliff unharmed and in good time. He couldn’t hear them, but he could see Naruto bouncing around at the top of the cliff looking for the chisel to write his name. When the boy finished, there seemed to be some argument or insult because Kakashi didn’t take the chisel from him when it was offered. Naruto was clearly upset, throwing the chisel down and crossing his arms over his chest. Kakashi ruffled his hair in an apology before moving to write his own name on the wall. Minato wondered what the bickering had been about. In the end, it didn’t seem to matter. Both of his companions looked to be in good humor as they started climbing back down the wall. 

When Naruto was less than three meters down the wall, he fell. Something must have happened, because he didn’t just slip a little so that Kakashi could catch him easily. Naruto flew backward away from the rock face. He twisted in the air, possibly beginning a flip that might land him on the nearer side of the crevice, but Minato couldn’t leave it to chance. It wasn’t as though Naruto could use his shadow clones at the last second to save himself; they would disappear the moment one of them touched rock. Minato sprang into action. 

Teleporting without a marker was always more difficult, but the Minato hit his son in midair easily. Naruto didn’t need a marker to draw his father’s attention. Minato teleported a second time to bring the boy to the cave floor safely. It was enough. He had been fast enough. He looked up at Naruto’s shocked blue eyes. 

“You’re safe,” he said, falling to the icy ground. Darkness came to swallow him. 

“Stop standing there like an idiot!” he thought he heard Kakashi say, but it couldn’t have been directed at Minato because he was sure he wasn’t standing. Also, Kakashi should still have been on the far side of the deep crevice. Also, the Reaper had come to devour him with ice and pain once more. 

“Let me try giving him some chakra please, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said softly. “I have a lot of it, right?” 

Minato didn’t seem to have the strength to open his eyes, but he wasn’t asleep. He was warm. 

“Sure. Just be gentle. You aren’t trying to hurt him, remember. You don’t want to wind up with a Gentle Fist or a Rasengan. Focus the chakra lightly in your hands and _offer_ it to his body.” 

“I understand, Kakashi-sensei.” 

It was basic first aid for someone on the edge of death due to chakra depletion. Minato supposed that was him. Still, it wouldn’t do for Naruto and Kakashi to suffer similarly in a place like this. 

“Uncle Kakashi didn’t last long did it?” 

Minato forced his eyes open. The three of them were back in the hot spring. Kakashi was staring out across the black lake with an impossible to read expression while Naruto just looked miserable. 

“I’m really sorry, Kakashi-sensei.” 

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Minato managed to say.

“Dad!”

“I’m your father. I’ll always protect you. In this case, it’s even my fault you were in danger in the first place. You’re much younger than the shinobi who usually attempted this challenge. We should have waited. I should have known the chakra depletion would be too much.” 

“Dad.” 

“He didn’t fall,” Kakashi said angrily. 

“Of course not.” Minato was so tired. Too tired to be careful with Kakashi’s feelings. “I caught him. Didn’t you accept that I would before we came down here?” 

“He didn’t fall. He jumped.” 

Minato’s eyes flew open again. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. It wasn’t possible. Naruto seemed so happy—surely he wouldn’t. 

“I’m so sorry, Dad. Kakashi-sensei told me not to do it. I was just showing off, you know. I wanted to impress you.” To impress Minato by jumping across a crevice so deep that the fall would undoubtedly kill him. 

Minato could see Kakashi’s face twisting into a fake smile. He knew that whatever Kakashi intended to say would be something that cut Naruto deeply. Minato could go with his instinctive need to forgive Naruto anything and hurt Kakashi, or he could let Kakashi speak and destroy his son. 

“Grounded,” he said. His companions in the pool stared at him blankly. “That’s what parents do, isn’t it? When their children are thoughtless and put themselves in danger? You’re grounded.” 

“Okay! I mean, I deserve to be punished, you know. But, um, what does that mean?”

Minato wasn’t entirely sure. He remembered it happening to Obito a lot and other kids at the academy who got into trouble at home, but he wasn’t actually sure how it differed from the punishments he would mete out as a teacher. He looked to Kakashi for help. 

“You’ll do all the camp chores for the rest of the trip, and when we return to Leaf Village you will not go on dates or hang out with your friends for two weeks. You can go on missions and train, but other than that you’ll stay in the house with us.” 

“Plus, no dinner tonight,” Minato said. Naruto and Kakashi both looked at him in surprise. “Well, you can have it if I can convince you to leave me here, but I doubt that will work.” 

“No one is leaving you anywhere!” 

“I agree.” 

“Then we’re going to be spending the night here. I won’t be strong enough to attempt the lake for hours yet, and we’ll have lost the light to try well before then.” 

“I’ll carry you.” 

“No, I will! It’s my fault you’re hurt anyway, you know!” 

“It was a misunderstanding, no one is at fault. And no one is carrying me across the lake. I won’t weigh either of you down. It’s too dangerous.” 

“Hard to regain chakra without eating,” Kakashi observed mildly. 

“I’ll manage,” said Minato, positive that it wouldn’t be as simple as he was making it sound. Still, after a good rest he would have to. He wasn’t going to hold Naruto back. 

“I wonder if this is new or if I was just too starry eyed to notice it before you died.” 

“What?” 

“This stubborn pride that’s going to get us all killed.”

“Kakashi-sensei! None of this is Dad’s fault!” 

“No, Naruto, Kakashi’s right. My pride is the reason I didn’t stay behind today, as I should have, but I’m being rational now. Both of you have given me chakra, giving either of you an added weight to drag back would be completely unreasonable.” 

“Let me help you while I am still strong enough to help you.” 

Which was how Minato ended up floating behind Kakashi, holding on to his shoulders and trying not to pass out. It was impossible to ignore Kakashi’s warm skin in the icy water, but keeping an eye on Naruto while trying not to burden his friend too much took precedence. Unfortunately, the chakra drain was just as bad as it had been before. He could hardly hold on. He could barely keep his feet moving. He couldn’t keep his eyes open. He couldn’t keep his head up. He also couldn’t breathe water.


	24. Chapter 24

Minato woke at the campsite. He was warm. 

“Boss says sleep,” Akino rumbled, nuzzling Minato with warm fur. As an intelligent shinobi, Minato couldn’t help but agree. 

“Uncle really wasn’t so terrible,” he heard Kakashi say softly some time later. “I probably would stop hating it eventually.”

“Just not ‘Big Brother’?” asked Naruto.

“That’s fine, too.”

“It is? You said if I called you that you’d scratch your name back off the wall, you know!” 

“Sure. I mean, I saw myself more as the cool and aloof uncle, but if you’d rather a tattletale older brother, I can do that. Compete with you for Minato’s attention. Tell him all your dirty secrets. Then we’ll probably have to fight and bicker. I’d have to embarrass you in front of Sakura and make sure you couldn’t get a date. It seems like it would take a lot of energy.” 

“Oh, no! That’s fine, Uncle Kakashi! Uncle Kakashi seems much better, Kakashi-sensei!” 

“Well, whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

Minato opened his eyes lazily to watch the pair. They were sitting just outside the little camp shelter with their backs to the open doorway. Still, Minato could tell from the angle of his head and the sense of his chakra that Kakashi was smiling. Naruto’s grin was as obvious as always. Minato blinked down at the yellow dog lying across his chest. 

“Boss says sleep,” Akino said, nudging Minato’s head back down onto his pillow with a cold nose. Minato didn’t have the strength to resist. On the other side of the doorway, Kakashi and Naruto grew very quiet. He looked to see Kakashi watching him with a soft eye. The man pressed a single finger to the mask covering his lips. It was almost impossible for Minato to keep his heavy eyes open. 

“Dad really could have died,” he heard Naruto say. Minato didn’t know if time had passed or not. 

“Yes.” 

“It would have been all my fault.” 

“Now you know better.”

“Yeah, but what if—you know! I asked him to go after Orochimaru with me! I’m the reason he promised to find Sasuke, you know! What if something happens?” 

“It might.”

“I don’t want it to! I only just got a Dad! I can’t lose him, you know!”

“Naruto.” 

“I won’t let it happen! That’s all! I just won’t!”

“Listen, Naruto. I know—it’s hard to—” Kakashi huffed in frustration. He started again, “Once there was a wealthy merchant with only one son.”

“Who cares?” 

“When the merchant’s son gave birth to a boy, the old man was overjoyed. He went to the Sage of the Six Paths and asked him for a blessing.” 

“Kakashi-sensei, I was trying to talk to you about my Dad! You can tell me a story later!”

“The Sage of the Six Paths gladly wrote a blessing for his house. Do you know what he wrote?” 

“No!”

“He wrote, ‘Father dies, Son dies, then Grandson dies.’ The merchant complained loudly, but the great Sage objected. ‘This is the only blessing that can truly guarantee the happiness of your family,’ the Sage said.” 

“You’re doing that thing. The story is really about me. You think Dad dying would be a good thing!” Minato could hear the hard click of Kakashi’s hand guard hitting Naruto’s forehead protector. 

“Idiot. You need to accept that he wants to die before you do. Can you imagine the opposite? He’d be a wreck. Don’t be selfish.” 

“I suppose. But it has to be a really long time from now, you know! Like, he should be older than Old Man Hokage when it happens!” 

“I couldn’t agree more.” Minato knew that the moment was probably becoming more emotional than Kakashi would have liked, but it warmed his heart just the same. Clearly Naruto felt the same way.

“I’m glad you decided to be part of my family after all, Kakashi-sensei.” 

“Naruto.”

“Is that what you two were arguing about on the cliff top?” Minato asked to save Kakashi from having to answer seriously or Naruto from whatever sarcastic thing Kakashi would have said when he decided he couldn’t answer seriously.

“Dad! You’re up!” 

“Practically,” Minato said, trying to sit up. Then he noticed for the first time that Bull had taken Akino’s place across his chest at some point. The giant black dog didn’t seem to be in the mood to move. 

“Good work, Bull,” said Kakashi authoritatively. “Take a break.” The animal nodded slowly and then vanished in a puff of smoke. 

“Are you hungry, Dad? Kakashi-sensei said you would be when you woke up, so I caught a lot of fish! I’m a really good fisher, you know!” 

“I have noticed you have a knack for it,” Minato smiled at his son. “And yes, I could stand to eat something. How long have I been out?”

“Three days,” Kakashi said softly, while Naruto scrambled outside—presumably to get something from a cooking fire. 

That was longer than expected. Minato wanted to apologize for delaying the last leg of Naruto’s training, but he had a feeling that it would be poorly received. 

“Naruto and I have been working more on his resistance to genjutsu. He still needs a lot of work, but he’s getting better at breaking free once he realizes he’s in one.” 

“Here you go, Dad!” Naruto offered him a tin camp plate piled high with plain rice and roasted fish. 

“This looks wonderful,” Minato proclaimed. For a simple meal that looked half burned, it did taste fantastic. 

“Well anything would taste good to you, you know! All you’ve had to eat in three days is two bowls of soup, tea, and some water! Oh! I almost forgot!” Naruto dashed outside again and returned seconds later with a canteen for Minato. 

“I don’t remember eating anything at all.”

“I woke you, but you were pretty out of it,” Kakashi agreed. “Still, if you hadn’t been eating anything I’d have brought you back to the village. It’s stupid to take chances with chakra depletion.”

“You’d know better than anyone, Sharingan Kakashi.” 

“But you’re feeling better now, right Dad?”

“A lot better now that I know it wasn’t only chakra depletion keeping me in bed for three days. I was a little worried there.”

“It wasn’t?” 

“You’re the one who said Kakashi gave me tea.” 

“You needed the rest.” 

“You mean that was Dad’s medicine? He said he didn’t want to take that!” 

“It’s all right Naruto. One of the time-honored traditions of my friendship with Kakashi involves forcing proper medical attention when it is needed. I don’t mind being dosed with my own medication.” 

“Glad to hear it.”

“Well, if you’re sure, you know.” 

“Actually, I feel much better now. Well enough that we can continue your training today if you like.” 

“Oh! Um. Maybe I’m not, you know. Um. I have a really bad stomach ache, you know!”

Naruto was a terrible liar, but Minato found it endearing. “Oh, so no school for you today, my son? I guess you’d better lie down and sleep it off while Kakashi and I go train.” 

“Um. Yeah! That sounds good. I guess.” 

Minato took pity on him. “You do understand that your final training here is something that only you can do. Kakashi and I won’t be able to do anything to help you, even if it goes badly. If it goes badly—“ Minato didn’t know how to continue. Of course it wouldn’t go badly. Kushina would take care of that. But the thought was still paralyzing. 

“Don’t worry, Dad! I can do it, you know!”

“Of course you can. I believe in you.”

“Then let’s go!” 

“I think not,” Kakashi said. 

“I wasn’t really sick, Kakashi-sensei. I just didn’t want Dad to get up, you know.” 

“Yes, I did see through your clever ruse, Naruto. It’s four o’clock, though, Minato. We’ll be losing the sun shortly.”

“Oh. Of course, good point. Tomorrow then.”

No matter when they planned to continue, Minato couldn’t stand the idea of remaining in the camp shelter for any longer. A little stroll around the ruin wasn’t going to cut it, either, though that was where they started. Still, it didn’t take long for Minato to convince his companions to take a little more exercise with him. 

Minato had the advantage of the terrain, which he knew much better than the others did, but Naruto was particularly well suited to the game. Once he scrambled his shadow clones a little, it was impossible to determine which boy and flag were the real one by any means other than attack. Kakashi settled the problem with an expansive Water Dragon Jutsu that reared out of the ocean and destroyed dozens of clones and several buildings before it hit the real boy. Having identified him, Kakashi snatched the flag away from him easily. Of course, Minato didn’t give him any time for his usual diversionary tactics. 

Teleporting in behind Kakashi only moments after he had captured the flag from Naruto, Minato hit his former student with a Rasengan. The log went spiraling away and Minato looked around for the shinobi who had used the Substitution Jutsu. Naruto found him first. A dozen clones converged on Kakashi and began the set up for what Minato recognized was the Uzumaki Naruto Barrage. Kakashi took the first two kicks, but then twisted in the air to catch one of the clones and throw it into two of the others, easily dissipating all three. 

“You should know better, Naruto. As a derivation of the Leaf Hurricane and the Lion’s Barrage, I could counter this jutsu in my sleep. The same technique doesn’t work on me twice.” 

“I know,” the real Naruto said, leaping through a broken window to hit Kakashi with a Rasengan. Kakashi used another Substitution Jutsu, but it was well planned. One of Naruto’s clones managed to grab the flag just as the Rasengan hit. He immediately split into twenty new clones and scrambled away. Minato barely managed to keep an eye on the real one, and he knew Kakashi hadn’t managed to do the math, because he chased after one of the clones. Still, if it weren’t a part of his strategy, Minato suspected he would be using his Sharingan. 

Minato chased Naruto down a narrow street with a number of twists around which he could lose sight of the boy. He was impressed when—instead of Naruto’s back—he encountered two large frogs blocking the road. 

“Gamakichi, Gamatetsu, you’ve grown!” 

“Lord Minato. Sorry, but you can’t pass,” Gamakichi croaked. 

“Naruto promised us some snacks if we stalled you,” Gamatetsu agreed. 

Minato laughed. “Of course! I understand. Summoning Jutsu!” 

“Oh, Minato! It’s been a while,” the giant Gamabunta said. If he were any other toad, Minato would have called his expression cheerful even though he had to crush the remains of a building on either side of the street to fit in the summoning area. It was very kind of him not to remark on the close quarters. 

“Indeed it has, my friend.” 

“I thought you were going on a training mission with Naruto? You didn’t expect to encounter anything serious.” 

“Ah, no, nothing like that! Naruto and I are actually doing a little training right now. Capture the Flag, in fact.” 

“Oh ho! And how is my young henchman doing?”

“Well enough, well enough. He actually summoned your sons there to help him.” 

“I see. And have they been helpful?” 

“Well they’ve certainly slowed me down a little. I didn’t want to attack them, naturally.” 

“No, no. I appreciate your consideration.” 

“However, I also don’t want to lose the game.” 

“I understand completely. Boys! Time to go home!” 

“Yes, Dad,” the frogs chorused at once, disappearing. 

“Call me again some time for a drink, Lord Fourth Hokage.” 

“I look forward to it,” Minato agreed, watching his friend disappear before leaping into a sprint to follow Naruto. 

Of course, Minato had completely lost track of the real Naruto, who seemed to be multiplying over and over every time Minato and Kakashi took care of a significant number of clones. Unsurprisingly, however, neither of the adults opened up with any of their larger techniques. It was only a game after all, the point was to win, but it wouldn’t do to seriously hurt anyone. 

“I did it!” Naruto yelled, jumping up and down on the roof of one of the destroyed buildings. “It’s sunset! I won, you know!” 

As if on cue, the flag in his hand burst into flames and vanished. 

“Sorry, Naruto,” Kakashi said apologetically, “but it seems the winner is me. I hid the real flag, the one you took back from me was a fake.” 

“This flag?” Minato asked, teleporting the object into his hand to Kakashi’s astonishment. 

“But you never touched it. I hid the flag the moment I got my hands on it. How did you mark it?” 

“I tagged it thirty seconds in. When I ‘failed’ to catch Naruto initially.” 

“But how did you know it was the real flag? It could have been one of my clones, you know!” 

“I thought you weren’t trying very hard,” Kakashi observed. 

“I could say the same to you.” 

“That’s not very nice, you know! You both cheated!” 

“We said no holds barred,” Minato objected. 

“I meant you should attack me with your full power, you know! Not that you should be sneaky!” 

“If you wanted me to let you win, you should have been treating me less like an invalid,” Minato said. 

“I didn’t want you to let me win!” 

“Then be a better loser,” Kakashi said. “Did you really expect either of us to play without a strategy?”

“No. I’m sorry. Congratulations, Dad.” 

“Thank you for the game, Lord Fourth Hokage.” 

“Thank you both, for the game and for looking after me. That said, I’m not a petulant child. I won’t be taking any more tea until we return to Leaf Village.” 

“Understood.”


	25. Chapter 25

The waiting was intolerable. Minato accepted that he couldn’t be in the Sealing Room with Naruto while he attempted to harness a portion of the Nine Tails chakra to use at will without interference from Kurama. After all, Minato had been the one to explain the situation to Naruto. If he hadn’t accepted it, obviously he would have simply ignored the prohibition and entered the chamber with his son. There was no real reason to be concerned—Minato knew exactly what was happening—but waiting was intolerable. 

He knew what was happening. Waiting was fine, because he knew exactly what was going on behind the stone door. Naruto would meditate. Naruto would attempt to take some of the Nine Tails chakra, fail, and then Kushina would intervene. Kushina and Naruto would have a talk. There was no way for Minato to join in that particular conversation because he was neither a jinchuriki nor an extremely proficient genjutsu master. There was no way for Minato to be of help to his son at all, except in the case where all of their precautions failed and Minato would need to seal both his son and the demon in the room. 

“Too early.” 

“Much too early,” Kakashi agreed. “He’s only been in there for an hour and a half; you said this might take days.” 

“No—it’s too early for him to be doing this. We should have waited.” 

“He’s a man of the Uzumaki Clan now, isn’t he?” 

“He’s a boy. We wouldn’t be doing this now without the Akatsuki threat. We would have waited.” 

“Without the Akatsuki, we wouldn’t have been doing this. Do you really think Jiraiya and I could have figured this place out on our own—if we even thought to come here?” 

“Naruto would have figured something out, in his own time. I made him rush. A boy needs to learn things in his own time.” 

“Right. Cards,” Kakashi said, pulling a deck from one of the pockets of his flack jacket. “Loser has to stop checking the seal on the door obsessively.” 

“I wasn’t—fine. Deal.” 

Cards were nothing like a sufficient distraction for Minato. Even though Kakashi was cheating, which provided an extra challenge to keeping track of the deck, Minato couldn’t concentrate on the trivial. If they had been playing for their lives instead of money, it still would have seemed trivial compared to what Naruto was going through. 

“I’m thinking of trying to drug you again,” Kakashi said conversationally. 

“Don’t. You’ll need me to seal Naruto again, whether or not she—even if things go badly.” 

“She?” 

“He. Whether or not Naruto succeeds in taking some of the Nine Tails chakra to use at will, he still isn’t friends with Kurama. The seal on the Fox will need to be replaced when he’s done, or he’ll still be at risk of possession. This exercise will only make Naruto more powerful, so that hopefully he won’t have to resort to asking Kurama for his hatred-tainted chakra ever again.” 

“You did explain earlier.” 

He had, but he hadn’t included Kushina’s chakra, sealed away inside Naruto like an echo of her soul. He hadn’t wanted to get Naruto’s hopes up. He hadn’t wanted to betray his own hopes. Of course he wouldn’t be able to see her again either way—she was inside Naruto—but Minato wanted his son to meet her. He wanted that more than anything. 

“So hey, I had a question about drawing the geodesics of a seal in all four dimensions of space-time.” 

Kakashi may have been playing dumb about tensors and vectors in curvilinear coordinate systems, but Minato thought it was possible that he might not be. It was a rather complicated field after all. Minato allowed himself to be distracted by an in depth discussion of sealing jutsu. There had never been very many people interested in discussing the underlying mechanics of jutsu with him, and sealing principles had been the absolute worst. Only Jiraiya had ever been very interested in a jutsu that could never be used on the battlefield, and Minato suspected that the lion’s share of that interest stemmed from his own enthusiasm on the subject. It was nice—it was more than nice—to sit shoulder to shoulder with Kakashi and sketch problems out on a little note pad. 

Naturally, all of that was tossed away the moment the door behind them opened. Minato sprang to his feet to meet Naruto, who smiled shakily at him. 

“We did it,” the boy said softly. 

“We?” Kakashi asked. 

“Then, she was there? Your—she came?” 

“Yeah. Mom says hi, Dad.” Then Naruto’s face regained some of its usual animation. “And why didn’t you warn me, hey? I didn’t recognize her from the photo you have and I thought she was the Demon Fox, you know! It was really embarrassing!” 

“I’m sorry, Naruto. How did she—did she seem happy?”

“Yeah. She was so happy—she was really, really happy when I told her you were alive. She told me all kinds of things, you know! About how you guys fell in love, and how she used to hide all of your books so you would have to pay attention to her! She said when you started to research new jutsu again I’d need to know this stuff, you know!” 

“Yeah?” Minato smiled a little. That did sound exactly like his wife. 

Kakashi coughed politely into one hand. “And the Demon Fox?” he asked gently. Abruptly, Minato realized that he was leaving his son completely vulnerable only minutes after they had presumably enraged the Nine Tails. 

“Oh, yeah, she tied him up and I took a whole lot of his chakra to use whenever I want!” 

“Good, if you could lift your shirt,” he said, in as businesslike a manner as he was capable of. Naruto obliged and Minato resealed the Fox almost anticlimactically. 

“Why don’t we head back to the surface and you can tell us the whole story, Naruto?” Kakashi suggested. It was the smart thing to do, so Minato and his son followed the taller shinobi out of the caves, still talking. 

“She cried and stuff, when I told her you were alive, but she was really, really happy, you know.”

“Yes, well, we really loved each other. So one of us gets to be happy, and the other gets to be alive.” 

Minato wasn’t expecting it, so the full force of Kakashi’s elbow landed on his head quite painfully. 

“What your father means to say, is—“ 

“It’s okay, Kakashi-sensei. I know what my father means to say. Mom explained it to me. And she says that’s why you have to do your best to be happy for her, Dad.”

“Did she, now?” Minato asked, rubbing his sore head. 

“She said you have to go on lots of dates and kiss all sorts of people, or it’s my job to beat you up. She doesn’t want you to just break away from the world and do nothing but research all the time once you know I’m okay. She said that you did that—when you don’t like something, you just think about jutsu instead.” 

Minato laughed a little, and accepted the handkerchief Kakashi handed him discretely. 

“She said that you need to go to all of the parties you get invited to, even if you don’t know anyone. She wants you to make a lot of new friends and eventually meet someone else and get married again, but she said the person you marry next shouldn’t be quite as pretty as she was. And when you do get married, you’re supposed to get the flowers from the Yamanaka shop, and remember that plain white is boring.” 

“I’ll do my best.” 

“Sorry. There was a lot of other stuff, too, but I don’t remember it very well. Stuff about not letting the Pervy Sage be a bad influence on me and eating my vegetables. I’m not the best at this sort of thing, you know.” 

“That’s okay, Naruto. I’ve heard Kushina’s goodbyes before. I know what they mean.” 

“Yeah?”

“She loves us,” Minato explained simply, finally able to rein in his tears long enough to actually talk with his son. Together, long into the night, Minato and his son remembered the beautiful, red headed woman who had loved them both.


	26. Chapter 26

Unfortunately, Minato was pressed into acceding to Kushina's wishes and accepting a party invitation far sooner than he could have anticipated. After all, they had been back in Leaf Village for less than a week. Kakashi had already been sent out on two different missions since their return, once alone and once to back up Guy's team, but that spoke more for his skill than the passing of time. Unfortunately, since Tsunade was phrasing this particular invitation as a mission, Minato had no choice but to accept it.

“So I’ll be providing additional security for the event,” Minato surmised. 

“Not primarily,” said Lady Tsunade, leaning forward on her desk she folded her hands together thoughtfully. “You have been invited by Ambassador Yuki Tanaka personally.” 

“The woman Naruto and I escorted to the Land of Lightning? Is she in some kind of trouble?” 

“I don’t believe so, no. She said that she simply wanted to see you again, and she thought it would be best for the shinobi the village sent as a representative to be someone of a higher rank than usual. She wants to discuss increasing our standard ninja tool requisition.” 

“I don’t have anything to do with that,” Minato objected. 

“She wants it increased and we’re fine where we are. Go be charming and get us extra tools or fail and keep us at the status quo. Doesn’t matter either way.” 

“If it doesn’t matter—“ 

“What matters, Minato, is that you were the most diplomatic Hokage Leaf Village ever had.” 

“Lady Fifth?” 

“You only served for a few years, but you brokered an alliance with the Sand that lasted for a decade and a half. You made real progress with the Raikage, and you were the reason the Daimyo cut off relations with Mist. Without you many nations might have simply accepted those barbaric practices as a simple method for producing strong shinobi. My grandfather may have brought the clans of this village together, but he and his brother never had the opportunity to try for peace with other villages. Lord Third—much as I respect him—also only ever really wanted peace for our own village, and that through strength. There aren’t many who are capable of diplomacy once blood has been spilled. There aren’t many like you.” 

“You’re too kind, Lady Hokage. I didn’t accomplish very much at all in the end.”

“No you didn’t, because you died. You could have, though. There’s no reason not to pick up where you left off.” 

“Lady Hokage, I no longer have the understanding of the political climate that I once did.” 

“Then get up to speed.”

“Lady Tsunade—“

“Minato, I don’t think you understand what I’m asking you to do. Diplomatic isn’t a word anyone would ever apply to me. For another Hokage this might not have been a problem. Sarutobi-sensei was incapable of being ruthless, but he had Danzo—problematic though that relationship might now be. My grandfather couldn’t have hoped to rival Madara without his wife. Every Hokage has peers—people who help with the things that even a Hokage has trouble with—but there are only two other surviving ninja of my generation. I don’t think I’ll be going to Orochimaru for advice anytime soon.” 

“I am honored that you would ask me to become one of your advisors, Lady Tsunade,” Minato hesitated.

“Oh come on, Minato. It isn’t as though it will interfere with your search for the Uchiha brothers or training Naruto any more than usual missions would. I’m not asking you to cut off an arm, just give me a hand.” 

“Well when you phrase it like that, I have no choice but to accept your offer, do I?” 

“Good. So you’ll go to the party and get back in the swing of things!”

Belatedly, a thought occurred to Minato. “You wouldn’t have spoken to Naruto about this, by any chance?” 

Tsunade blushed lightly and thrust her chin into the air defiantly. “Like I’d base a decision that could affect the whole village on doing a favor for that little brat!” 

Knowing that further questioning would be fruitless, Minato accepted the mission and appointment as gracefully as he could. Obviously, this wasn’t a mission that Naruto could accompany Minato on. It was regrettable, but Minato couldn’t imagine the boy at a formal assembly. Doubtlessly he would get into some mischief or other, and it was better to leave him out of it. Besides, he was technically grounded, though Minato had a feeling that he wasn’t enforcing that properly. So Naruto would be staying home, but for a mission like this, Minato would definitely need back up. 

Normally, Minato would have liked nothing better than for his assigned back up to be Kakashi. In this case, however, he wondered if it wouldn’t be a problem. The mission required them to blend in with the lords and ladies of the Daimyo’s court without misrepresenting themselves. Kakashi couldn’t use a Transformation Jutsu without insulting the court, but he also couldn’t wear his usual forehead protector and mask. Kakashi was a brilliant shinobi, but he didn’t exactly blend in with a crowd. 

Kakashi didn’t blend in with a crowd at all. His hair was styled to swoop low over his left eye so that one couldn’t discern the silver eye patch he was wearing without looking very carefully. His cloth mask was made of shimmering silver that melted seamlessly into his forest green kimono. With his fair skin and only one deep, thoughtful eye visible, Kakashi shone as brightly as any jewel of the court could. Every eye was on him when they entered together, making Minato very conscious that his blue kimono had been the simplest choice available to him for all that Shizune had claimed it complimented his eyes. 

Happily, the initial greetings were very short, or the shinobi had arrived later than expected. The guests were invited to the dining hall almost immediately for a very formal sixteen-course meal. Minato was seated between Kakashi and Ambassador Yuki Tanaka, so making conversation was very easy. The ambassador was a kind, interesting dinner partner who answered his natural solicitude with brilliant, welcoming smiles. Half way through the dinner, Minato was even granted the honor and mortification of being addressed directly by the Daimyo himself. 

“Yuki was selfish—not telling me you would be coming Minato! You should be sitting over here next to me so we can talk!” 

“I’m gratified by the compliment, Your Lordship. Perhaps you would grant me some few moments of conversation after dinner to catch up?”

“Naturally, naturally! I’ve missed you, you know!” 

After that, the Daimyo was considerate enough to confine his conversation to his nearby partners at the head table. Minato was able to return to conversing with Ambassador Yuki. 

“He considers you a friend,” she observed kindly. 

“I have always been very honored to serve such a noble, peaceful man. Moreover, I find that his wisdom when faced with difficult decisions is unparalleled by other rulers, Lady Ambassador.” 

“Come now, you needn’t be so formal after we traveled so long together, Yuki will do nicely. And you mean that he leaves the hard choices up to the Hokage, as it should be.” 

“Lady Yuki, I would never suggest—“ 

“Relax, Minato. The Daimyo and I are quite in agreement. The reason we keep a powerful hidden village is so that we can trust you to handle such things. We have such a close relationship—the capitol and the village—and of course, that is all we desire. To be close to our strong, honorable protectors.” 

“Pass the wine, please, Minato,” Kakashi interrupted with a slight air of annoyance. Minato suspected he was upset that the Daimyo had drawn so much attention to them. Shinobi operated best in the shadows. Wordlessly, Minato poured his friend some sake without looking away from the ambassador.

“You are too kind, Lady Yuki.” 

“Is that all you think of me? That I’m kind.”

“Of course not. I couldn’t have asked for a more intelligent dinner partner. You were saying before about the price of gold from Sand? Do you suspect it will impact trade heavily in this region as well?” 

Ambassador Yuki had a number of fascinating insights regarding the lack of a Kazekage in Sand Village and how that was affecting everything from the gold trade to the state of the roads in Stone. She was quick-witted and thoroughly charming as well. It was a very pleasant dinner. 

True to his word, the Daimyo did indeed claim a few minutes with Minato the moment dinner ended. Some of the guests moved out to the gardens to walk in the moonlight, but most remained with their Lord to lounge on cushions or mill about an indoor assembly hall listening to the gentle strum of a koto. The Daimyo seemed truly happy to see Minato, but he was pulled away after little more than an exchange of pleasantries by a small group of elegant ladies. 

“I’ll find you again later,” the laughing lord said. “I’m sure you understand that duty calls.”

“Of course, my lord.”

“I hope you aren’t too disappointed,” Ambassador Yuki said appearing on Minato’s left. “I decided I didn’t want to share you.”

“Oh?”

“Won’t you join me for a tour of the gardens, Lord Fourth? In the moonlight, it can be surprisingly private.”

Belatedly, it occurred to Minato that he was being propositioned. Perhaps he had been overly solicitous during dinner. He felt his face turn red and hesitated uncertainly. While he desperately didn’t want to offend the ambassador, he also wasn’t interested in attending her in the gardens. Luckily, he had backup. 

“There you are, Minato,” Kakashi said, casually sliding into place at Minato’s side. “I hate to interrupt, but you have been monopolizing the most beautiful woman in the room. Ambassador.” 

“You are too kind, Jonin Hatake, but I believe that Minato and I were about to take a turn around the grounds.” 

“Is that so?” asked Kakashi. His voice slid low and he leaned ever so slightly toward the ambassador, cocking his head gently to one side. 

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Shall we?” 

“Ah,” Minato said, grateful to his friend for providing such a convenient excuse. “Kakashi, you would not think our leaving very rude?” 

“Completely unpardonable,” Kakashi said coolly. “I don’t think I’d ever forgive you. However, I would be delighted to take a stroll with you in the gardens, Yuki. The moonlight could not caress a more delicate flower. It would be a shame for you to miss it.” 

“I prefer less forward men.” 

Minato rubbed the back of his head ruefully. Kakashi’s coldness was strange, and his flirting with the ambassador could not be accidental. Feeling as though he had missed something very important, Minato attempted to demur. “Ah, that is—the music is very nice, isn’t it? Why don’t we take a seat for a while and all have some tea?” 

Kakashi smiled slyly at Minato, a glint of challenge in his eye. Slowly, he leaned into the ambassador, carefully not touching her or brushing against her in any way. As he whispered in her ear, Minato watched a red flush blossom across her cheeks, then deepen. Kakashi straightened, but he didn’t step away from the ambassador. 

“Minato,” Ambassador Yuki said breathlessly, looking at him with soft, dark eyes. “Forgive me.” She was really very beautiful, but Minato had nothing to forgive. It seemed that Kakashi was interested in taking her for a turn about the gardens, and as they were both unattached adults, Minato could have no possible objections. In fact, Minato felt rather like a fish let off a hook and tossed back into the ocean by a fisher. 

“Have a lovely walk,” he said. “Please don’t be concerned about me; there are many people here that I have not seen in such a long time. I will be quite entertained in your absence.” 

“Right,” the ambassador said. She looked guiltily between Kakashi and Minato, but when Kakashi offered his arm she took it immediately, clinging to his side. Minato wasn’t expecting the sharp stab of envy that hit him as the pair turned to leave together. It didn’t make sense, because he was grateful for Kakashi’s intervention, but he suddenly found that he didn’t want Kakashi touring the gardens either. The cheerful wink Kakashi offered in parting didn’t ease the sensation, either. 

Luckily, a distraction immediately presented itself. One of the servants was behaving in a highly suspicious manner. Not only was he paying an inordinate amount of attention to Kakashi and the ambassador, he nearly dropped a tray and seemed about to follow the pair outside. Minato put a firm hand on his shoulder and asked him for a word in the hallway. 

As soon as he touched the man, he knew it was a transformation jutsu. Naruto released it in the hallway. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“My mission!”

“I doubt that Lady Tsunade sent you on a secret mission into the Daimyo’s palace without his permission, and I am quite certain that he would have mentioned it when I brought up your name earlier. He is not a man overly given to secrecy.” 

“Um, not a mission from the Hokage, you know,” Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “The one from Mom! I’m making sure your date goes okay!” 

“My date.” 

“Yeah! Only Kakashi-sensei showed up and ruined everything! I’m going to beat him up!” 

“This wasn’t a date, Naruto. I really am on a mission. Lady Tsunade has asked me to resume a diplomatic position for the sake of Leaf Village.” 

“But you like her! And she seemed really interested when we talked! Until that jerk Kakashi-sensei got in the way of everything!” 

“When you talked?” 

“Well, I had to make sure she was a good person for you to date before I set you up, you know! But she caught me spying on her, so I had to tell her why and about how much you liked her and how she was pretty and stuff. She really came around to the idea once I explained, though!” 

“So you told her that I wanted to be with her? Didn’t you consider that you might be giving her expectations that I might not be inclined to follow through on? Thank heaven for Kakashi.” 

“What do you mean? Mom said you’d need a push to date someone! That’s my mission!”

“Why not let me decide if I’m interested before forcing an awkward situation? And you still haven’t explained what those three are doing here,” Minato slapped his hand against the potted pant bad temperedly, though he was careful not to damage it.

“I cannot ignore the cause of youthful love!” Guy’s student Lee proclaimed, leaping forward and sticking his thumb up in the Nice Guy Pose. “I vowed to assist Naruto with his noble objective!” 

“I just wanted to see the fashions at a party in the capitol!” the thrown weapons specialist Tenten pouted. “We never have fancy parties in Leaf Village.” 

“My apologies for going this far, Lord Fourth,” Neji Hyuga said, executing a formal bow. “It was my hope that by accompanying them, I might be able to prevent an incident that could cause difficulties for the village.” 

Minato offered the Hyuga a nod of acknowledgement. “That was wise of you, though perhaps it might have been better to warn me or Kakashi.” 

“Sir,” he accepted the chastisement with grace. Minato could understand the difficulty presented by friends acting irrationally far more easily than he could forgive the interference of his son. Somehow, he suspected that if he had not been invited to the gardens, Kakashi would not have gone. For all Kakashi’s coldness, Minato felt very much as though his former student had stepped in front of a blade that was meant for him. The feeling upset him far more than Naruto’s interference might have. 

“Perhaps you would be good enough to see that these three return to the village at once.” 

“Sir.” 

“But Dad!”

“We’ll talk about this at home, Naruto. Right now, presumably, your self-proclaimed mission is a failure thanks to Kakashi. You can have no further business here.”

“You’re really mad this time aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Lord Fourth Hokage!” Lee interrupted. “Please forgive Naruto! His only goal was to find your True Love and make you happy!”

“If Naruto wants to arrange my marriage, that is a conversation we can have. However, if he wants my happiness then he could do better than to force me into an awkward situation without warning, in the palace of my Daimyo while I’m on a mission!”

“So I’m grounded some more?”

“We’ll discuss it at home, but clearly that is ineffective since you’ve come all the way to the capitol twice this week, when you were also supposed to be grounded.”

“Oh yeah. Um, sorry about that. I forgot, you know.”

“As I said, we’ll discuss the matter at home.”

“Right. So we’ll just go home, then.”

“Clearly that would be for the best,” Minato agreed. Even flush with anger, Minato couldn’t help feeling sorry for Naruto’s dejected look. “It’s already late, Naruto, so don’t wait up, all right? Get some rest.”

Naruto returned a soft smile. “Sure thing, Dad.”

When he returned to the main party the Daimyo was able to find time for Minato after all. They shared over an hour’s conversation. Minato was able to relate a few stories of Naruto’s tamer escapades and in turn he listened to the advice of an experienced father. While the Daimyo was not very involved in the lives of his children, he was very proud of them and loved to tell stories. Mostly, however, he was interested in Minato’s honest opinion about various courtiers. Minato offered it, probably more colored by his mood than he would have liked. 

“I always appreciate your honesty, Minato,” he laughed. “You have a way of saying exactly what you mean without giving offense.” 

“My Lord, I suspect that if Lady Kato had heard that particular comment about her choice in consorts she would not agree. That’s why I’ve placed a small barrier jutsu around us so that no one will overhear us.” 

“Oh ho ho! You’re a wiser man than me, that’s why I like you so much. That and your sense of humor.”

“Perhaps I have learned something from my recent experiences after all.” 

“Please, share your insights.” 

“Oh, nothing very profound, My Lord, only that reality must be accepted.” Minato sensed the immediate presence of another shinobi and his eyes flicked involuntarily to where Kakashi was returning to the party with a flushed and laughing Ambassador Yuki. “If Lord Sato accepted his age and did not wear his hair in a vain attempt to disguise how much of it he is losing, then we would have nothing to laugh at him about.” 

The Daimyo laughed. “No, we wouldn’t. So you believe that we should embrace our faults?” 

“One must never abandon self improvement, of course, but would you not agree that a failing of character—such as vanity—is much more ridiculous than someone like that poor scribe who clearly allowed a friend more familiar with the fashions to dress him and has ended looking like the world’s least comfortable peacock.” 

“Indeed, indeed. Poor boy looks exceedingly uncomfortable. I wanted to reward him for his excellent work of late, but it seems to have become an accidental punishment. Oh dear. In private he is very much like you—an eloquent young man—I had hoped he would grace the party with some of that wit.” 

“Unless I miss my guess, a better reward would be a book that you personally favor or some other small memento.” Minato’s eyes wandered back to Kakashi, still laughing with the ambassador. “We must allow those we care about to be happy, even if it is not in the way that makes us happiest. That, My Lord, is what I mean by accepting reality.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some (probably obvious) reason this chapter was super hard to write, so I must beg to be forgiven for the slow update.


	27. Chapter 27

If Minato had hoped that his own confused emotions would be the only inconvenient remnant from the Daimyo's disastrous party, he was sadly disappointed. Kakashi was more upset than anyone when Minato finally told him the whole story. He didn't say a word for a long moment, so Naruto began apologizing for leaving the house while he was grounded, explaining that having never been grounded before and simply forgot. Kakashi silenced the boy with a cold look that was usually only seen by mortal enemies of Leaf Village. 

"Weren't you going to stop acting without thinking?" he murmured. That was all. He didn't explain the comment or continue. Instead—just as he had every time he was upset as a child—Kakashi shut down completely. He was perfectly polite, perfectly civil, and completely unemotional. He only responded when addressed and never attempted to make conversation with either of them while Minato was present. Minato wondered if his friend’s feelings for the ambassador weren't far deeper than he'd suspected, because that seemed to be the only explanation that made sense. Why else would Kakashi be so hurt by Naruto's attempt at matchmaking? Naruto clearly hadn't forgotten how upset the event made Minato, because the boy was walking on eggshells around the house. 

While he was saying things like, "Since I broke the rules twice while I was grounded, I should probably be grounded for another two months," though, Minato couldn't help forgiving his son right away. Obviously, Kakashi didn't feel the same way toward Minato. The morning after the party he requested a mission from Tsunade. Sensing their strife and proving she was a true friend, she sent him away for two days instead of the month he requested. Ideally, this would have forced them to work things out, but it hardly helped. Kakashi was just as cold when he returned from the mission. It might even have been better to give him more time away to think. Minato only witnessed the icy facade crack once before Naruto managed to thaw it, and that had not been a pleasant experience. 

"Are you in love with her?" he asked, hoping to garner some clue about why his friend was so upset. 

"Love?" Kakashi sneered. "That's what would have happened if you took her in the garden, Lord Fourth. She was enthusiastic enough, but I wouldn't go for a repeat performance. You're welcome to her now, if that's what this is about." 

"Kakashi! How could you say something like that?"

"What's it matter? Is it love after all?"

"It matters because my friend is clearly upset about something, and I don't know what the problem is. Please, Kakashi. I thought you were enjoying yourself, and I'm very sorry for whatever I did to hurt you." 

Kakashi's obvious anger iced over again. "You have nothing to apologize for," he said with cool civility. "We're fine." 

Minato had no way of disputing that without knowing whatever he had done or failed to do. Kakashi's refusal to engage effectively ended the conversation. When Naruto came in from training in the yard, the three of them sat down to yet another stilted, overly polite dinner. 

Perhaps it was hypocritical, but Minato was incredibly grateful that Tsunade allowed him to escape into his new assignment where she had forbidden Kakashi to do likewise. Needing to catch up on a decade and a half of treaties, incidents, and unspoken diplomatic agreements gave him the perfect excuse to hide out at the Hokage's Mansion where he couldn't feel the chill of his closest friend. Normally he might have felt bad leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone together, but his son didn't seem to notice that Kakashi's insipid politeness stemmed from anger. Since Naruto was on his very best behavior, Minato trusted that they couldn't irritate each other too much. It seemed best to remove himself from the situation as much as possible, as he suspected that he was the reason both of them were acting so strangely. When he was out of the house, he imagined they both smiled normally and went about their day together. Kakashi probably took more of a leading role with Naruto’s training as well, if Minato wasn’t there to attempt conversation with him while he did so. It was a little depressing to think they were so much happier when he wasn’t around; it was horrifying to learn that the opposite was true. 

Teleporting home from the Hokage’s mansion, Minato came to the sudden realization that perhaps the well-chastened good cheer and absolute civility were for his sake. Apparently, when he was away from the house neither of its other occupants felt the need to make the same effort. In the living room Naruto was shouting and radiating so much chakra that Minato doubted either of them had sensed his homecoming. 

“I said I was sorry! I am sorry and I won’t do it again, you know! I don’t even know why it was so bad; I just wanted my dad to be happy! But, just, aren’t we still a family? Can’t we still live together, and eat together, and have fun together? I don’t understand! I don’t know how what I did was so wrong!” 

“Shall I tell you then, Naruto?” Kakashi’s voice was cold, but it was the first time he’d responded to the question. Minato didn’t do anything to reveal his presence. 

“Please! I want to know!” 

“You didn’t think. Again. Unlike last time, you didn’t just make Minato hurt himself. It was naïve of me, but I didn’t actually realize it could get so much worse than that.” 

“I don’t—I don’t understand.” 

“You made me hurt him.” Minato couldn’t see Kakashi’s face, but he could hear the slightest tremor in his voice. A slight tremor for Kakashi when he didn’t mean to display one was an eruption of tears for anyone else. 

“What? I—how?”

“You didn’t think. You chose a powerful woman with an important and fulfilling career—a woman who would never move to Leaf Village—so that Minato would eventually be in a position where he had to chose between his heart and his duty, if she even let it get that far. Did you even think she would? Did your vast experience with women lead you to believe that she was looking for more than someone to amuse her at a party?” 

“I dunno. She seemed to like him. And what’s wrong with just going on one date? You have to start somewhere, right?” 

“Do you even know your father at all?” Kakashi’s voice was so cold. Minato needed to intervene, but Naruto beat him to it. 

“Not very well. Not as well as you do. So that’s what I did wrong? I picked the wrong woman to set him up with? Because I thought he liked her.” 

“He did like her. That was the problem.” Kakashi seemed to soften, just a little. “His heart has been broken enough. I had to protect him. I had to hurt him, to protect him.” 

“You mean when you talked Miss Yuki into being on a date with you instead of Dad. I thought you just liked her, you know.”

“I didn’t like her. I just took her away from your father. It was the only practicable, long term solution to the problem you created.” 

“I—what?” 

“Minato isn’t going to go on just one date with someone. She wasn’t going to fall in love with him. It was an untenable situation—though of course at the time I didn’t know it was your doing—and it needed to be dealt with quickly. So I hurt him, because I knew it would be effective. I always end up hurting my friends, but I can’t—I can’t forgive it. I _hurt_ him.” 

“You didn’t hurt me,” Minato said, revealing himself. “Truly, I was grateful for the interruption.”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened just a fraction. So he hadn’t realized Minato was home. “Liar. I can tell when I hurt someone, Minato, and you’re out of practice in hiding your feelings.” 

“Well,” Minato agreed, because clearing the air was more important than his pride, “you were a little cold.”

Kakashi stared at him. Naruto was twitching, seemingly torn between leaving to give the two adults privacy and wanting to help in some unknown way. Minato rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. 

“It seemed to me at the time, that you made perhaps more of a show than necessary about preferring her company to mine. That is, I’m aware that you enjoy—ah—touring the gardens with many different people, and I certainly didn’t want to—ah—go walking with her, but I was a little jealous. It was foolish, but you walked away with my mission and didn’t say goodbye. It was silly. I felt better the moment you returned to the party.” 

“Minato.” 

“I am sorry, Kakashi. As you know I’ve been overly sensitive of late, and it was an unexpected situation to find myself in when I believed the ambassador had asked me to attend for a serious political discussion.”

“No, Minato. I’m—an idiot. If anyone was overly sensitive it was me. I’ve been an—jerk. I’m sorry.”

Naruto couldn’t seem to contain himself anymore. He leapt into the air, practically vibrating out of his skin. Minato intercepted him for a hug before he could make Kakashi rethink forgiving them both. 

“You guys are both so dumb! Girls are dumb and it was dumb for everyone to be so mad, you know! I’m not going to do that dumb mission any more!” 

“Now, Naruto,” Kakashi said cheerfully, all pretense of disaffectedness melting away, “Don’t give up too soon. You just approached this from the wrong angle. If you’re up front and honest, your father is going to agree to whatever dates you set up for him.” 

Minato could see where this was going. “Well, you’re not entirely wrong, Kakashi, but—“ 

“You can make him date the old woman who always scolds you for using jutsu too near her garden because she thinks it keeps her roses from blooming. You can make him date Guy. You can make him date _Tsunade_. Really, the possibilities are endless.” 

“Um. That sounds like fun.” 

Minato sighed and ruffled his son’s golden hair. “Just talk to me about it first, okay? No more tricks or set ups. If you want me to go on a ridiculous date just to be sociable I will—I can easily believe that Kushina intended exactly that when she gave you this task—but I’d prefer not to have any more misunderstandings.”

“Me too, you know! I promise!” 

“Well, what do you think, Minato? That’s pretty well behaved for Naruto. He’s been pretty good at sticking to his grounding lately, too. Do you think we could go to Ichiraku for dinner tonight? My treat.” 

“Really?” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

For the first night in far too many nights, they felt like a family again. Unfortunately, Minato was far too aware of just how fragile that warm feeling could be.


	28. Chapter 28

No shinobi would ever refer to what Minato was doing as eavesdropping. He wasn’t masking his presence in any way. Lady Tsunade knew he was at the door to her office, so he couldn’t possibly overhear anything she intended to hide. Nevertheless, no true shinobi could refrain from listening in on an interesting conversation. 

“You still have a long way to go, Sakura,” the Hokage was saying. “Your first aid is excellent, and you’re strong enough, but you need to work on antidotes and herb lore.” 

“Yes, Master Tsunade.”

“You can’t start slacking off now, young lady. You’ll be doing three times as much book work as you have been.” 

“Th—three times? I mean, yes, Master.” 

“If you’re going out into the world as my apprentice, then you had better be a damn fine medical ninja.” 

“Yes, Master.” 

“And you are going out into the world. I’ve decided you should take the chunin exam in Sand Village next month.” 

“What? But you said I wasn’t ready!” 

“I said you weren’t ready for the one held four months ago when we’d only just started training. You’re ready now.” 

“But—I’m honored by your faith, Master, but don’t I have to take the exam with my team?” 

“You have to take it with a team of three; it doesn’t have to be the same team of three every time.” 

“But—“

“You have a month and a half to train with a new team. That’s not much less than you’d had when that brat Kakashi put you forward the first time.” 

“Master—“ 

“Besides, it won’t be an entirely new team,” Lady Tsunade continued. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Minato.” 

“Lady Hokage,” he said, entering the room. Tsunade’s pink haired student looked at him out of the corner of her eye in a way that suggested she hadn’t sensed his presence. Well, she was young, and probably distracted by her teacher’s lecture. 

“Minato, this is Sakura, my apprentice. She was on Team Seven with Naruto and Kakashi before that regrettable incident with Orochimaru. Sakura, this is Minato—Naruto’s father.” 

The girl bowed deeply and at once. “Lord Fourth Hokage, I’m honored.” 

“Please, just Minato is fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you at last. Naruto and Kakashi talk about you all the time.” 

“Thank you, Lord Minato.” She was blushing and avoiding his eyes. Minato understood that he was something of an embarrassment to most of the shinobi in the village at the moment because of the way he’d been breaking down. The only recourse was to prove himself, especially to the people Naruto considered important. “In all honesty, Naruto has invited me to your home on several occasions for dinner; however, I was very busy with my studies.” It was a polite lie. 

“What about tonight, then? If you and Naruto are going to be teaming up again for the chunin exams, you should catch up a little. I’m not much of a cook, but I have very good recipes to work with.” 

“Lord Minato—“

“Great! What are we having?” Lady Tsunade grinned and leaned forward on her desk. “If you’re planning to let Naruto enter the exam, I should be with you when you break the news about his third teammate.”

“Oh, well I was only planning on yakitori, but obviously I’ll make something more appropriate if you’re joining us, Lady Hokage.” 

“Don’t be silly, Minato. I love yakitori.” 

Lady Tsunade was a very informal Hokage, but Minato felt it wasn’t as respectful an offering as someone of her standing deserved. A meal that was perfect for one of Naruto’s young friends was hardly suitable for the leader of Leaf Village. Having said he was going to serve yakitori, however, Minato could hardly change the menu. He did his best by serving it with miso, rice, several different salads, and some of his homemade pickles. In the elegant Hatake dishes, the meal became passable. 

“Geeze, Minato,” Lady Tsunade said, “You really missed your calling. You would have made an excellent wife.” 

“Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I’m flattered that you think I’ve approached the level Kushina achieved with these recipes.” 

“I don’t remember Kushina ever making this kind of effort at presentation,” Kakashi drawled. 

“Well having one of my students over for dinner is a little different from dining with the Hokage.” 

Kakashi stared at Minato for a long minute, then he and Tsunade both burst into laughter. 

“Now, Kakashi, you know what I mean! It was different when I was the Hokage. We were married.” 

“Sure, sure,” Tsunade said, pouring herself more sake. “Anyway, I can see right through you, Minato, and this isn’t necessary.” 

“Oh?” 

“You respect me; you’re sorry for your behavior.” Lady Tsunade waved a hand dismissively. “Stop worrying about it. Everyone at this table knows Jiraiya was supposed to be the Fourth Hokage, anyway. You and me are reluctant outliers; we should stick together.”

“Um, Pervy Sage? Really?” 

“Okay,” Lady Tsunade nodded to Naruto, “Not everyone, but the point stands. No one at this table thinks your priorities right now have anything to do with undermining my authority.” 

Minato scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “I’m a terrible shinobi, after all. Everyone always seems to know exactly what I’m thinking these days.” 

“Don’t be stupid, Dad! You’re the biggest hero Leaf Village ever had, you know! You’re a great shinobi!” 

“Indeed, Lord Minato,” Sakura lied courteously. She was blushing again; she should work on her tells with Kakashi if Tsunade wasn’t inclined to teach her the subtler aspects of shinobi life. “We studied your deeds in school.” 

“Yeah! That stuff was pretty boring, though. I really only liked the shuriken lessons and fighting lessons and stuff like that, you know. Not that you’re boring in person, Dad, I just didn’t like listening to Iruka-sensei drone on about wars and stuff.” 

“Idiot!” Sakura yelled, slamming Naruto’s head into the table with one hand. “What kind of thing is that to say to your father? Be more respectful!” She looked up at the adults around the table and blushed again suddenly. She released Naruto at once. 

“Hey, Sakura! That really hurt you know! And I wasn’t being disrespectful, was I, Dad?”

Minato was torn between grabbing the girl to hug her as tightly as he could and bursting into tears. Luckily, he was a terrible shinobi and Kakashi could read him like a book. 

“You’re always disrespectful, Naruto. If Sakura didn’t call you on it no one would,” Kakashi said, drinking his tea with a bored expression. Minato let him have everyone’s attention, and very carefully did not do or say anything about the fact that Naruto had a real, good friend. After all, if Minato continued embarrassing Naruto in front of his friends, he might not keep them. 

“If you kids are bored enough to fight at the table, we should talk about the chunin exam,” Lady Tsunade agreed. 

“The chunin exam?” 

“Ah, yes, Naruto. Lady Tsunade and I have agreed that you and Sakura are both capable of becoming chunin.” 

“No!”

“Naruto!” Sakura looked completely scandalized.

“We can take the chunin exam when Sasuke gets back, you know! Dad and I have better things to do right now.” 

“Actually, Naruto,” Lady Tsunade said, “I was thinking this could be a way to achieve at least one of your goals.” 

“What?”

“I assume it’s Itachi,” Minato said, looking down at his own tea. “We could have discussed Sasuke in your office.” 

“You always were bright, Minato.” 

“You think if Naruto goes somewhere high profile, planned in advance, Itachi will try to capture him again,” Kakashi said. 

“Itachi!” Sakura sat forward abruptly. 

“Yeah,” Naruto said. “He’s—uh—not totally bad, you know. I mean, he did kill all those people, but it was an order, you know?” 

“I do know,” Sakura said impatiently. “Lady Tsunade told me the whole story months ago—and don’t think I’m going to forget that you kept it secret, orders or not—but I thought he wouldn’t be attacking Naruto for another two years or so.” 

“Jiraiya-sensei’s intelligence on the Akatsuki does suggest that, whatever they are doing with the tailed beasts they take to the cave Minato described, they need to take the Nine Tails last. While Naruto is well protected, they most likely won’t attempt to take him,” Minato agreed. 

“Still, the chunin exam is the least protected Naruto is ever likely to be. Three kids alone in the field with no protection and a high fatality rate,” Kakashi observed. “It’s when I would strike.” 

“It’s when Orochimaru did strike,” Sakura said. “It worked for him. If we’re going to do this, we need to have a real plan.” 

“We should get someone really strong for our third teammate, then! Do you think Neji would help us out?” 

“Neji passed the exam the last time around. So did Shino,” Sakura said. “Don’t you pay attention?” 

“Oh! Well if Neji isn’t on his team any more, Lee probably needs someone to take the test with, then! We should ask him quick before he makes other plans, you know!” 

“Naruto,” Lady Tsunade interrupted. “You already have a third member of your team.” 

“Sasuke?” 

“No. He’s someone you haven’t met yet. He didn’t go to the Academy.” 

“If he didn’t go to the Academy, how is he a genin?” asked Sakura. 

“Technically he isn’t. He is a member of ANBU—he has been for years—but he’s your age and no one needs to know that his education hasn’t proceeded through normal channels.”

“What if someone notices his tattoo?” Sakura asked. 

“He doesn’t have one,” Lady Tsunade said. 

“ROOT.” Minato felt strangely calm. “Is he trying to place an assassin near Naruto or a spy near me?” 

“What? Who?” Naruto looked around the table. 

“Danzo,” Kakashi answered. “He’s the person who gave Itachi his orders—the person who still receives his reports, if he still makes any after the Third Lord’s death.” 

“I suspect it’s both, and probably a bodyguard for Naruto as well,” Tsunade said in answer to Minato’s question. “Danzo has tried to convince me several times that Naruto shouldn’t be allowed to leave the protection of the village, so clearly he would prefer to keep the Nine Tails under our control. His operative will probably be under orders to kill you if it looks like you’ll fall into enemy hands, but protect you from lesser threats.” 

“You want us to team up with someone who wants to kill me? No way!” 

“I may not be much, Naruto,” Minato said, “but I won’t let you come to harm.” 

Tsunade looked at Minato seriously. 

“You’re joking. I will be accompanying them of course.” 

“Kakashi is the jonin teacher for Team Seven.”

“Kakashi is an excellent shinobi, but he has already had some difficulty fighting Itachi. I believe it would be best if both of us go to Sand Village, in case the boy won’t listen to reason.” 

“Relax, Minato. Of course you’re both going. You’ll be standing in for me as a judge and a diplomatic liaison. Sending you in my stead makes sense after their complicity in Orochimaru’s attack and the death of the Kazekage. They won’t expect me to come myself. But it’s a chunin exam, Minato. For the most part, Naruto, Sakura, and Danzo’s operative will be acting alone.” 

Minato nodded. “There’s no way to stay with them that wouldn’t also violate the terms of the test. Well, it was a good thought.” 

“It is a good thought,” Kakashi said. “It sounds like the best chance we’ll get to lure Itachi into the open.”

“The last thing in the world that Danzo wants is for the truth about the Uchiha massacre to come out. We are not sending Naruto and Sakura alone with one of his operatives to lure out one of the most powerful shinobi Leaf Village has ever produced. It’s too dangerous.” 

“So come up with a way for Naruto to let you know quickly when he’s in trouble,” Lady Tsunade said dismissively, as though communication jutsu weren’t incredibly difficult to set up. 

“Besides, Dad, I can do it! I’m getting better at working with my frogs, and resisting genjutsu, and I don’t have to ask Kurama for chakra if I need a lot of it, you know! You should just believe in me!”

“Fine,” Minato said reluctantly. “But you’re getting a tattoo.” 

“Cool! Okay! I want one of, like, a toad swallowing the moon and it can go over my whole back like a real tough guy!” 

“Eh, Naruto,” Kakashi said, “I’m pretty sure it will be your dad’s teleportation marker.” 

“Precisely. If I mark a person it generally fades within a day, less if their natural chakra is as powerful as yours. A tattoo will solve that issue.” 

“Oh. Well can I get a tough guy tattoo at the same time?” 

“We can talk about it.” 

“Please excuse my interruption,” Sakura said, “But isn’t it still too dangerous to have one of this man Danzo’s operatives on a mission like this? I don’t mean to us. Won’t he try to prevent us from convincing Itachi to come home?”

“Obviously we’re not going to tell the ROOT boy that capturing Itachi is the objective. He’s being teamed with Naruto for extra protection at Danzo’s insistence and the two of you should pretend to know even less than that. I wanted you to know not to trust him, but he’ll be introduced as a boy from a special class at the Academy, and you should treat him as though you believe that.” Lady Tsunade smiled wryly. “I wouldn’t worry too much about him anticipating an attempt to capture Itachi, though.” 

“What do you mean, Master?” 

“She means,” Minato explained, “That Danzo has been doing black ops work for longer than I’ve been alive. He thinks he is one of only four people who know that he bears culpability for a terrible crime. He wants to decrease that number. I doubt he’d tell even his most trusted operatives the truth about Itachi.” 

“So unless one of us accidentally mentions something about expecting Itachi at the exam, everything should be fine,” Kakashi said, fixing a firm look on Naruto.

“I can keep a secret!” 

Sakura looked skeptical.

“I can! Just because I don’t usually doesn’t mean I can’t!”

“I believe in you, Naruto.” Minato smiled. “I believe you’ll pass the exam, too. You may not have a strategic mind, but you are a leader.”

Sakura snorted in disbelief, then looked extremely embarrassed to have done so. 

“It’s true,” Minato protested. “He convinced three of his friends—who clearly knew better—to sneak into a party at the daimyo’s palace.” 

“Idiot! Is that why you’ve been grounded? You’re lucky you weren’t put to death! I told you not to try it!” 

Sakura was a sweet girl, Minato decided as the night wore on. He hoped Naruto would have her over more often so he could get to know her. Clearly, she was very fond of his son.


	29. Chapter 29

Sai was a bit of a handful. Rather, Sai and Naruto didn’t get along at all. Apparently Danzo’s operative had decided to introduce himself to Naruto by attacking the boy in the street. The fight had been a draw even though Shikamaru and Choji had come to Naruto’s aid, so Naruto couldn’t forgive it. Whenever the new team met to train together, Naruto inevitably picked a new fight. Sai didn’t help at all by constantly insulting everyone he came into contact with using a fake smile and cutting honesty. It was probably better than a likeable operative around whom Naruto would lower his guard, but Minato didn’t envy Kakashi when he took the trio out on missions. 

Which wasn’t to suggest that Minato didn’t want to accompany those missions desperately. Letting a potential assassin near Naruto—even in the company of Kakashi—was just as difficult as Minato had imagined it would be while discussing it with Lady Tsunade. He worried constantly while they were out of the village. He understood that the team needed real experience that couldn’t be gained just in training, but he worried. 

Fortunately, Minato had a distraction to keep himself occupied. Formulating a simple way for Naruto to contact him in an emergency that couldn’t be affected by distance, location, or barriers was more difficult than a layperson would think. Minato wanted it to be easy to activate in an emergency, but he didn’t want to risk something that would set off too many false alarms. There was no chance that Minato would be ignoring an alert during the exam, so he needed to make sure that he wouldn’t be rushing to the rescue and invalidating Naruto’s test unnecessarily. He finally settled on a weak chain. Worn inside of clothing, it wouldn’t break accidentally, but Naruto would be able to easily snap it in an emergency. 

Of course, physical design was the easy part. Designing a jutsu that would make Minato instantly aware of the situation and location of the trouble was slightly more complicated. He settled for an association jutsu. It wasn’t ideal, because he would need to constantly wear the bracelet he associated the chain with, but it would cut down on interference and prevent a false alarm. After long consideration he made three more chains and linked them to the same bracelet. He strung a tiny frog charm on Naruto’s, a little flower on Sakura’s, and a small pug dog on Kakashi’s. It was difficult for him to proceed further without more information. 

“What is your read on Sai?” he asked while Naruto was conveniently out of the room. 

“Who can get a read on that jerk?” Sakura asked moodily. Then she seemed to recall herself and blushed. “That is to say, Lord Minato, that he continues to be very reserved with us. He’s always smiling that fake smile of his.” 

“I see.” He had hoped for slightly more information than that, but he smiled and poured her more tea. 

“He has a picture book,” she added eagerly. “He claims that he drew it for his brother who died of a sickness, but it’s super grisly and it isn’t finished.” 

“Grisly?”

“It’s the type of book with two stories that start from either side and meet in the middle. In each story there is a boy—one looks like Sai, so I infer that the other is his brother—who fights enemies. On every page, the boys fight a new enemy and emerge with a more powerful weapon, but the center page—the page where they would meet—is blank. The boy who looks like Sai is depicted, but the drawing is unfinished.” 

“That is very interesting, but an unfinished drawing doesn’t necessarily mean anything sinister.” 

“Yes, but he draws hundreds of pictures a day. To not finish that one even after the weeks we’ve been working together seems suspicious to me.” 

“So you’ve checked more than once?” 

“Well, he might be an assassin; he’s definitely an enemy.” 

“I’m not criticizing, Sakura, I think it’s very wise to be cautions, and I’m very happy you feel you can be honest with me.” 

“I think he might have killed his brother,” she said, staring into her tea as though it held some important secret. “I think that’s what the unfinished page means.” 

Minato sighed. “He might have. Hiruzen had been allowing ROOT to go its own way for years. Honestly, I think after the Uchiha Massacre he just gave up trying to keep Danzo in check. Many years ago, when I was Hokage, Mist Village had a graduation exam for its academy that involved pitting classmates against each other in fights to the death. Danzo was in favor of adopting the practice here. I forbade it, of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had enacted it secretly with his own Foundation.” 

“You really think?” The girl looked unconscionably sad. Minato patted her hand gently in what he hoped was a reassuring way. 

“Well, we don’t know for sure. Anyway, while this is all interesting and important, what I was really wondering is what your read on Sai’s mission is. Has he shown any aggressiveness toward Naruto at all?” 

“He rarely shows anything but aggressiveness toward Naruto, but I think that is personal.” She hesitated. “Well, I’m never sure what is actually personal with Sai. He says that he insults Naruto because he wants to give the appearance of a tough guy, but he also doesn’t seem to understand when an honest evaluation is even more insulting than saying something about how Naruto has a small—um, normal insults.” 

Minato laughed lightly. “Well, that’s not unexpected from someone who was raised by the Foundation. Danzo has always believed emotions and social niceties were unnecessary for shinobi.” 

“For what it’s worth, I think if his mission was to kill Naruto as soon as possible, he’s had enough opportunities to do it secretly by now.” 

“Whose mission is to kill me?” Naruto asked, returning to the kitchen no longer smelling like pigs, and with all of the mud cleaned from his clothes as well. 

“Sai,” Sakura said, “Only I don’t think it is.” 

“Oh, that guy,” said Naruto. “I don’t like him.”

Minato laughed again. “Well you don’t have to like him, but if he helps keep you alive, I might start to. Here, I have something for you both.” Minato gave them the respective necklaces he’d made and explained in detail how they would work to alert him of trouble. Then he warned them both to use them only in the event of an emergency. 

“It’s kind of girly, don’t you think?” Naruto said dubiously. 

Sakura hit him into the wall hard enough that he sat up in the living room. “Idiot! Say thank you first! You’re supposed to wear it inside of your clothes, anyway!” She blushed and looked over at Minato. “Sorry, Lord Fourth. I’ll fix the damage, of course. Thank you very much for thinking of me as well. I promise to only use it in a real emergency.” 

Giving Kakashi the necklace he’d made for him was more awkward. He waited until after Sakura had gone home and Naruto was sleeping. Kakashi was definitely going to tease him, and he preferred that to happen without witnesses. Sitting on the porch together, watching the fireflies float around the garden in the moonlight seemed as good a time as any. Naruto had shown Kakashi his chain proudly the moment the jonin had returned home, so Minato took the opportunity to explain how he had designed the jutsu to alert him to any trouble while each link of the chain acted as a teleportation marker. 

“Anyway, since I had to link it to this bracelet anyway—not the teleportation markers, of course, but the alert function—I thought it made sense to do more than one at a time. There is certainly no disadvantage to having more than one person be able to notify me of trouble. Naruto could be rendered unconscious, for instance, and unable to break his chain. A shadow possession jutsu would also not allow the freedom of movement that regular bondage would. That is to say, ah, here.” Minato handed him the chain. 

“Sensei!” Kakashi gushed rapturously. “You shouldn’t have! It’s beautiful. As a symbol of your affections I shall wear it close to my heart always!” 

Minato shoved him of the porch into the rose bushes. Kakashi was too much of a shinobi to be scratched by the brambles, but at least he settled a little and fastened the silver chain around his neck. It contrasted starkly with the black cloth of his mask, creating a strange pressure in Minato’s chest. 

“You might consider wearing it inside of your clothing,” Minato suggested. “It is a very weak chain, and I would hate for it to break accidentally.” 

“I’ll put it under my vest when I have that on,” Kakashi promised, “but I sort of like the idea of people seeing a hint of it and not understanding.” Kakashi chuckle a little, twisting his slender fingers in the short chain. Minato’s stomach twisted with uncomfortable warmth. “Seeing the necklace and not knowing that it means I can have you at my side the moment I need you—hiding in plain sight is the essence of a shinobi, don’t you think?” 

It didn’t feel much like a joke at all to Minato, but he agreed. “I did try to make it as innocuous as possible, so I’m pleased you feel I succeeded.” 

Kakashi slung an arm over Minato’s shoulder and squeezed him a little. “Thanks for thinking of me, Sensei,” he said warmly. 

As difficult as giving Kakashi a necklace had been, approaching Sai on the subject was even worse. 

“It allows you to track my movements,” the boy surmised expressionlessly, carefully not touching either the chain or the little paintbrush dangling from it. 

“Not until it is broken,” Minato said.

Sai managed to look highly skeptical without actually making a facial expression. 

“An enemy would be able to determine that there was something special about the chain and neutralize it before attacking if there was a constantly operating jutsu of that nature on it. Not to mention that a jutsu like that would wear down more quickly and the chain would need to be replaced frequently. Moreover, if I wanted to track you, I could just put a teleportation marker on you and then do as I pleased.” 

“It only summons you when broken, then?” 

That was a little insulting. Minato would never give an item that could summon him to a potential enemy. “It notifies me that you are in trouble and immediately transforms each link of the chain to one of my teleportation markers. If they are scattered a little around the battlefield it will give me an instant advantage in the fight. Or, more to the point, if an initial attack destroys part—or even most—of the chain, I will still be able to find you.” Minato debated whether or not to explain that even if Naruto’s entire chain were destroyed he would still be able to teleport to the boy’s side at will. Naturally, he decided against giving Sai that information. 

“Very well,” the boy accepted the chain expressionlessly. “I will wear it. However, since accepting something like this goes against my better judgment, I want something in exchange.” 

“And what might that be?”

“I want to fight you.”


	30. Chapter 30

Sai’s reasons for wanting to fight Minato were obvious. It was the best way for Danzo to get accurate information about Minato’s current level of skill—if Sai was skilled enough to force such a display. Nevertheless, that was a two way street. An opportunity to really measure Sai as a shinobi was too good to pass up. He might have preferred to have the match without Kakashi’s team there to witness, but Kakashi was an unrepentant meddler and spy, so that was not possible. It felt too much like showing off to defeat a child in front of his team, but if Minato wanted the match, he had no choice. Needless to say, Minato wanted the match.

The boy was good. More aggressive than Minato had expected, he attacked less than a second after forming the seal of confrontation. His form was perfect, even though he wasn’t quite fast enough to keep Minato on his toes. When he dropped a flash bomb, Minato gave him the space he wanted to see what his next move would be. As expected, his next move was to take out his Super Beast Scroll and start drawing. The moment Sai completed a sketch the black ink sprang from his scroll as a creature to attack his enemy. 

The first six animals to spring from the scroll were giant dogs. They were strong and attacked Minato as a pack, surrounding him. Minato gripped a kunai tightly, and flipped effortlessly into the air. Dodging sharp teeth, he sliced at the side of one inky dog. It did not completely dissipate. Twisting to the left, he sliced off the head of the second dog. That was effective; the animal splashed into the puddle of ink that it truly was. So was stabbing a deep blow through the ink head of the third construct. The false animals were fast, and fairly strong. More impressively, while Minato took his time dispatching them, Sai continued to draw. Minato didn’t allow the dogs to press him into the snake trap, but it was well thought out and very subtle. Another shinobi would have fallen into it easily. 

“Yeah, Dad!” Naruto cheered when he realized what had happened.

“Do your best, Lord Fourth Hokage!” Sakura cheered along with him.

“Don’t let it get you down, Sai!” Kakashi called. Whether he was actually looking to encourage Sai or annoy Minato was questionable, but Minato suspected he succeeded on both counts. 

Sai’s next move was to take himself even further out of Minato’s range by drawing a bird and leaping onto its back. He rode it into the air to circle slowly above the field. In quick succession, he sent a tiger, more dogs, a pride of lions, and a flock of crows after Minato. Minato didn’t allow any of the animals to touch him, of course, but he did take his time defeating them. That was the point, after all, to gauge the boy’s fighting style. 

He realized that Sai established how much he would control an animal at the time of its creation. Some of the beasts simply attacked, with the normal instincts of an animal, while some of the animals were more directly controlled by Sai. He imbued snakes with that control most often, keeping them docile and hidden before springing a violent trap, but he would also occasionally take control of just one animal in a pack. The animal Sai controlled directly would be a leader for the others to follow, which made their instinctive attacks far more effective. If Minato destroyed that leader, none of the others assumed the position and Sai immediately moved on to a new tactic. 

It was an interesting limitation. Minato suspected that the animals he did not control directly required less chakra to create, while the controlled creatures required Sai to sustain them with chakra during the battle. Either way, Sai could dissipate a creature at will, a theory Minato confirmed by launching the largest lion into the air so that it would strike the bird if Sai didn’t cause it to vanish. 

“I would appreciate it if you would take this fight seriously, Lord Minato,” Sai said, from the back of his soaring bird.

“What makes you think I’m not?” Minato asked, dispatching three of the dogs with a well-placed taijutsu combination. 

“That was the first time you have attacked me,” the boy observed, slightly out of breath, “and I would hardly call it a serious strike.” 

“Ah, but you’re doing very well—keeping me busy with your animals.” Minato wondered if he was tiring. Comparatively, he was expending a great deal more chakra than Minato was using.

“If you will not fight seriously, then perhaps I will have to attack you in a weak spot.” Sai smiled his fake smile and nodded slightly toward Naruto. Kakashi moved to intercept the ink snake that exploded from the ground near the spectators, but Minato wasn’t going to allow that either. 

He threw a kunai into the bird’s stomach, perfectly positioned so that Sai could not deflect it, as he was clearly smart enough to do. The bird was strong enough that a single attack couldn’t dissipate it, but that didn’t matter at all. Minato teleported into the air, grabbed Sai’s brush arm, and shoved a seal onto the boy’s exposed stomach. Immediately the bird, the snake, the lead dog, and one of the tigers Minato had been battling all disappeared in splashes of ink. Minato teleported himself and the boy to the ground then dispatched each of the remaining animals with a Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu that blanketed the field with the deadly missiles. 

“What did you do?” The boy asked, staring blankly at his stomach. Mianto was still holding his wrist, but the boy hadn’t tried to attack and escape. 

“I sealed your chakra,” he said simply. “You seemed ready for our match to end.” 

The boy was completely expressionless as he tugged lightly on his brush arm. Minato released his hold. “Will you undo the seal?” he asked tonelessly. 

“Of course,” Minato said with a friendly smile. “That is, if you agree our match has ended,” he added, offering two fingers to the boy. 

Sai smiled his fake smile and completed the sign of reconciliation. “Thank you for the match, Lord Fourth Hokage. It was very educational.” 

Since that had been exactly what Minato was afraid of going into the fight, his own smile wavered a little. He removed the seal from the boy’s stomach with a gesture. “Thank you, young man. You are a very strong shinobi, for someone your age.” 

“What was that about?” Naruto shouted. “He cheated!” 

“You were never in any real danger, Naruto,” Minato said mildly. Even if the snake had been poisonous—and there was nothing to suggest that it had been—Kakashi would have handled it. 

“No, but—but—“ 

“No buts, Naruto,” Kakashi said with a smile. “It looks like I won the bet after all.” 

“Bet?”

“I told Kakashi-sensei you wouldn’t have to use your teleportation jutsu even once against Sai. He was going to buy us all Ramen if you didn’t.” 

“You bet against me, Kakashi?” Inexplicably, Minato felt a little hurt at the thought. 

“I bet that you would, in fact, use your signature jutsu at least once during what I was confident would be long match. No one ever suggested you wouldn’t win the fight, Minato.” 

“So that’s why you were cheering for me, Captain Kakashi,” Sai observed with a fake smile. “I did wonder.” 

“After all, you are on my team,” Kakashi said, patting the boy’s shoulder. “Not to mention a fellow ANBU. I had complete faith in your ability to make Minato take you seriously, however short the fight would be after that.” 

“Ah. Thank you, Captain.” 

“Well,” Minato said congenially, “If ramen is out, why don’t the two of you join us for dinner at home tonight. Sharing a meal every so often is good for a team.” Naruto’s teammates were kind enough to accept the offer. 

“What do you think of Sai?” Minato asked Kakashi later that night, after the others had gone home and Naruto was in bed. 

“I think he is incredibly dangerous. Oh, he went with everything he had today. It’s no question that you or I could defeat him in a straight fight. He’s strong enough, but that isn’t what makes him dangerous. He doesn’t feel anything. It isn’t just that he was raised alone and doesn’t understand his feelings—he honestly doesn’t have them. He could poison us all without even blinking.” 

“He reminds me a little of the way you used to be.” 

“I had feelings, I just couldn’t act on them.” 

“And you think he’s different?” 

“Well, who knows? If he does feel things, he never shows any sign. I, at least, could be annoyed into a fight. Trying to annoy him is like insulting a brick wall—even Naruto can’t get a rise out of him. But even if he is repressing the way I did, I was plenty dangerous back then.” 

Minato stared at the stars for a long moment. He knew he should leave it alone, but he couldn’t refrain. “That wasn’t your fault.” 

“Well, who knows?” Kakashi repeated, looking out over the garden. 

“Kakashi.” 

“Either way, the only thing we can trust Sai to do is complete his mission, and we don’t know what that is. Speaking of, did you—“ 

“I checked the barriers as soon as he left. Any ink he left behind is nothing more than ink now.” 

“Naturally. I did the same, but I was going to ask if you tagged him.” 

“Ah, I beg your pardon.” Minato could feel himself blushing. He was still making assumptions and rushing to conclusions. “No, I didn’t. It seemed like a waste of time. He’ll be checking for that thoroughly. Besides, being able to locate him likely won’t tell us anything we don’t already know—I certainly won’t be surprised if he’s meeting with Danzo or snooping around the Hokage’s offices—and it might be nice if he started to trust us a little.”

“Trust us? You’re very optimistic, aren’t you?” 

“Ah, but lower his guard sounds so sinister, don’t you think?” 

Kakashi laughed happily. “Only you, Sensei. Yes, I think it would be very nice if he decided to underestimate us.” 

“I don’t know how likely it is,” Minato added regretfully. “He certainly has me pegged.” 

“Maybe,” Kakashi said, squeezing Minato’s shoulder warmly, “but a guy like that is just as likely to see you protecting Naruto the way you do as a weakness.” 

Minato looked into Kakashi’s dark, soft eye. 

“We know better, though,” said Kakashi, “You and I. We know that having someone to protect is what makes a shinobi strong.” 

“Then I hope you’re prepared to be strong, Kakashi,” Minato said, getting up. “It’s time for my tea.”

Kakashi remained on the porch while Minato moved to the kitchen, and his voice was barely audible. Minato heard him just the same. 

“For you, Minato, I could move mountains.”


	31. Chapter 31

The group headed to Sand Village for the chunin exam was a large one. There were thirty-three genin traveling from Leaf Village to take it, and apparently that was the second lowest number to try for the exam in years. The village still needed every available shinobi, so teams that didn’t like their chances remained behind to work. Apparently, of the five teams that had attended the exam six months ago, at least one member of each team had qualified for chunin. Similar results were expected this time around as well. Thirty-three would have been an enormous group of ninja traveling to another village in a time of peace, but their band was even bigger than that. Every group had a jonin sensei and even beyond that there were quite a few recently promoted chunin accompanying them. 

“You didn’t have to come with us,” an Inuzuka boy was scolding an Abarame. “You could have gone on the mission and then I wouldn’t have to listen to your complaining.” 

“I was not complaining; I was stating a fact. Also, I did have to come with you. And this is because you and Hinata are my friends; I must offer you moral support during an important challenge like this one.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” 

“Thank you for coming, Shino,” a very timid Hyuga girl stuttered. “I appreciate your support.”

“He is not the only person who will be wishing you well, Lady Hinata,” Neji Hyuga said factually. 

“I’m very grateful to you for coming as well, Cousin Neji,” she said shyly. “With so many people cheering for me, I will really do my best.” 

“Yeah, Hinata, I know exactly how you feel!” Naruto said, skipping forward a few paces to walk with the group instead of at Minato’s side. 

The girl stopped walking entirely and turned a very interesting shade of red. “You—you know—how I feel?” she stuttered. The Inuzuka boy threw an arm around her shoulders, which seemed necessary to keep her upright. 

“Well yeah,” Naruto continued obliviously. “I mean, we always had Iruka-sensei cheering us on, of course, but he cheers everyone on so it doesn’t really count. Having a dad to cheer me on makes me want to try even harder than I usually do!” 

“Does it actually affect your performance?” Sai asked, with the air of emotionless curiosity he seemed to have perfected. “Having trivial, irrelevant people present?”

“Listen you bastard,” Naruto began, but Shino beat him to the punch. 

“The bond between Hinata, Kiba, and myself is hardly trivial or irrelevant. This is because we are good friends who have been through many hardships together, therefore we care about one another deeply.” 

“So like the bond between Naruto and the traitor,” Sai observed. 

“Don’t you call him that!” 

“Why not? You know whom I mean. Even you can’t be friends with more than one traitor. But I don’t think that bond is anything so very deep or special. After all, you claim to want to rescue him, but here you are living your life normally and attending an exam with your classmates.” 

“Bastard! This is part of the plan to—“

Minato grabbed his son in a close hug that muffled his words against his flack jacket. Of course it was too late. All of the surrounding shinobi looked like they knew exactly what Naruto had been about to say and they wanted to know more. Even Sai didn’t bother to hide his interest, staring at Minato and his son, though he still didn’t make a facial expression that might reveal his thoughts. 

“That’s my plan too, Naruto,” Neji said without missing a beat. “We’ll get stronger, then we’ll be able to defeat Orochimaru’s servants.” 

“Totally,” Sakura said. “After all, I couldn’t even accompany the last rescue mission because I wasn’t strong enough to help.” 

“I was also left behind,” Shino said. “This was not because I was any weaker than the rest of you, but because you forgot to ask me to join you.” 

“Um, yeah,” Kiba agreed, much less smoothly. “That’s our plan—the plan that we all planned together—to make a second attempt to rescue Sasuke by becoming stronger and stuff first.” 

Obviously, Sai wasn’t convinced. Minato doubted there was a story in the world that would make the boy ignore what Naruto had inadvertently revealed, but he hoped that everyone would be smart enough to evade the inevitable questions. At the very least, only Kakashi’s team knew anything at all about the true plan to lure Itachi into the open, and Minato would keep a close eye on Naruto. 

Of course the moment Minato was drawn away to help fortify their camp for the evening Sai pounced. He could hear them arguing as he returned to the area of the site claimed by their small group. Taking half a moment to wonder why Kakashi and Sakura would have left Naruto alone with Sai when they had both witnessed the earlier mishap, Minato hurried. 

“Sasuke is my friend!” Naruto was shouting. “Someone I was finally able to form a bond with, so I don’t care who I have to fight! If he rips my arms off, I’ll kick him to death! If he rips off my legs, I’ll bite him to death! If he cuts off my head, I’ll stare him to death! If he gouges out my eyes, I’ll curse him from the grave! Even if I’m torn to shreds, I’ll save Sasuke from Orochimaru!” 

Kakashi caught Minato by the mouth and pulled him into a tree, stopping him from stopping Naruto. “Give him a minute,” he murmured. “He hasn’t said anything he shouldn’t yet. Believe in him.” 

Sai wasn’t saying anything; he just stared expressionlessly at Naruto. Naruto, who looked emotionally wrecked and was breathing like they’d just gone six rounds, stared back. 

“I remember what I wanted to draw,” Sai said. He sat down in the dirt and pulled a book from his backpack. Flipping to the center page, he took out his brush and began to draw with the quick, efficient strokes he always used. 

“What are you—“ 

Sai looked up at Naruto. “I was drawing this book for my brother, Shin,” he said. “When he died, I forgot what I wanted to draw. You remind me of him a little, and just now, I remembered what I wanted to draw.” 

Naruto looked at the page and smiled broadly. “That’s really nice, Sai.” 

Sai smiled back. It wasn’t the fake smile he always used when he wanted to get his way or make someone angry. It was a small, real smile. Almost as though he was honestly happy. Minato found himself thinking that it might not be a ploy. 

“I want to know,” he said. “I want to understand what that bond is. I think if I help you find Sasuke, I might.” 

“I can use all the help I can get,” Naruto admitted. “Even from a weirdo like you. But I can’t tell you the plan. My dad wouldn’t like it, you know.” 

“No, you shouldn’t,” Sai agreed, very nearly convincing Minato of his sincerity. “Not if it is something you do not want Lord Danzo to know. I am his agent. But I would also like to help you.” 

“Sure! I mean your mission is to make sure the Akatsuki doesn’t kidnap me, right? So you can totally help me save Sasuke while you’re doing that.” 

“Yes, Naruto,” the ROOT shinobi said pointedly. “My mission from Lord Danzo is to make sure the Akatsuki does not capture you alive. Until my orders change, there is nothing to stop me from assisting you in your search for Sasuke.” 

Naruto clearly didn’t understand the significance of what Sai was revealing. He wanted to look at the whole picture book and ask dozens of questions about Sai’s brother—most of which received no answer at all. Minato did understand, and he could hardly believe it. 

“This is what your son does,” Kakashi said softly. “This is what makes him so incredible.” 

Minato stared at his friend. “That boy will still complete his mission if it goes that far. He is ANBU—ROOT—he won’t falter.” 

“Maybe,” Kakashi agreed. “But in the mean time, I think we can honestly rest a little easier about his reports.” 

“I—if I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t believe it—not with that boy.” 

“Why not? He kept you in Hidden Leaf when I thought it couldn’t be done. And there have been others. Neji springs to mind—he used to carry around a lot of baggage—so do Gaara, Tsunade, Inari, Sumaru, and Konohamaru, actually. He makes people want to try—Naruto. He’s a special kid. Weird and unpredictable, of course, but special.”

Minato felt a broad grin stretch lips. He didn’t know what to say.

“Where’s Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura demanded, returning to their campsite with plenty of water. “How long have the two of you been alone together?” 

“I dunno, a while,” Naruto said. “Check this out, though! Sai made this picture book. It’s pretty good. I mean, I guess he’s an okay artist.” 

“Ah, Naruto.” 

“Relax, Sai. Sakura is going to be your friend, too! You should show her this stuff!”

“My friend?” 

“Sure! We’re all on a team together, so we should all be friends!” 

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Sakura said, as though she hadn’t already searched Sai’s belongings on multiple occasions. 

“No, it’s fine.” 

Minato was curious enough to rejoin the group wordlessly, standing behind Sakura as she flipped through the pages. Kakashi stood next to him. Naruto and Sakura hadn’t noticed the presence of the adults, but Sai’s eyes flickered over them briefly before resting on the book Sakura was holding. That was permission enough. 

Each page of the book was exactly as Sakura had described. The dark haired boy who looked very much like a young Sai faced enemies, starting off with nothing but taking their weapons when defeated, each more powerful than the last. Finally, at the center, he was depicted holding hands with another boy—presumably his brother—who had survived similar trials in the opposite half of the book. 

If it was a ploy to make them lower their guard, it was an excellent one.


	32. Chapter 32

The tall trees and lush farmland of the Land of Fire grew into the deep canyons and glorious deserts of the Land of Wind as the group headed for the chunin exam continued. The trip between Leaf Village and The Village Hidden In Sand was not a long one, but traveling with so many people—even though they were all shinobi—slowed the group somewhat. Guy had tried to convince them all to run the distance without stopping—his student Lee had been extremely eager to do so—but the other teachers agreed that showing up well rested was more important than a little last minute training. Honestly, Minato was glad to take the time. It seemed that a great many of the children were good friends with Naruto, and it was fun to watch them play while they walked. 

Eventually, they passed through the dark canyon guarded by the shinobi who covered their heads with white linen. When the canyon opened up, they could see the squat, rounded buildings of Sand Village. Everything was golden brown except for the clothing of the ninja who came to greet their group. Minato had always thought it was very beautiful—a solid background that emphasized people as the jewels of a village. 

At the head of the Sand shinobi was a young man with pale skin, red hair, blue eyes, and the kanji for “Love” tattooed on his forehead. He came forward, and his eyes locked on Naruto at once. Minato could immediately sense what he was and why he would focus on the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. 

There was no time to spare. Minato jerked Naruto’s shirt up and twisted his seal as tightly as he could, tamping down Kurama completely. Naruto gasped is surprise—maybe even a slight measure of pain—but there was no time to apologize. Minato rushed the redheaded boy, who was raising a hand in aggression toward Naruto. Sand was flowing out of the gourd at the boy’s back. Minato caught the sand with a teleportation seal to redirect its stream away from their group and continued to close the distance. Finally—almost a full five seconds after sensing Shukaku’s presence—he managed to catch the boy’s wrist. He was touching a sand shield instead of skin, but that didn’t actually matter. He teleported them both away from the village to a patch of desert he had passed on the way in. 

While not nearly as bad as teleporting an enormous beast or attempting to teleport two people in a cavern that absorbed chakra, using the jutsu without a marker took its toll. Minato was barely able to flip away and dodge while the jinchuriki attempted to engulf him in sand. 

“I’ll kill you!” the One Tail shouted, sending out more sand.

Fortunately, Minato was able to open his scrolls and spread kunai for his Flying Thunder God Jutsu. He wasn’t sure that he could take a direct hit of that level without damage. His quick dodging forced the jinchuriki to change tactics as well. Sand from the desert landscape formed itself into shuriken and shot through the air randomly. Since they weren’t aiming anywhere so much as everywhere, Minato couldn’t dodge all of them; he had to deflect three with his knife and one managed to cut a shallow graze across his cheek. 

“I think you should calm down,” Minato said, unleashing his own Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, striking the boy’s sand armor with hundreds of the small knives. 

“Wise advice. It won't save your life,” he said, even as the shuriken blasted through the wall of sand only to be deflected by a final shield of sand adhering so closely to the boy that it appeared from a distance to be his skin. Apparently, Minato wouldn’t be doing damage with weak shuriken, either. 

The boy struck back with a wall of sand so huge it looked like a tsunami at sea. Minato threw a kunai into the air to teleport over it as it passed. "It will take more than that to kill me, Shukaku,” he advised. “You should have stayed a force of nature. Are these Sand Shinobi still failing to hold you in check with the Dream Seal?" He teleported in close and struck the shield with a powerful Rasengan. 

The Rasengan pushed through the Absolute Defense and sent the boy spinning backward, but plenty of sand enveloped Minato, moving to crush him in a coffin that he only barely teleported out of.

“You say too many pointless things.” The boy raised a hand and the sand shot from the ground carrying Minato’s kunai through the air and burying them in a pile some distance from their battlefield. 

Minato barely managed to flip away from the sand tendrils sprouting all over the battlefield, opening another scroll to spread fresh kunai as he did so. “Really, Shukaku, you’ve changed. The last time I met you didn’t stop laughing once. You also managed to emerge from your jinchuriki much more quickly.” 

The boy cocked his head to the side as though Minato had done something unexpected. “I am not Shukaku,” he said, continuing his attacks with the growing tentacles of sand. 

“You’re the jinchuriki?” Minato asked, dodging the whipping sand. “If you’re in control, then there’s no reason for us to fight.”

“Whether or not you are Shukaku’s enemy makes no difference to me,” the boy said placidly. The sand tentacles were as fat as tree trunks, but still fast enough to be a threat. “I have only one friend.” It was irrelevant, but Shukaku’s jinchuriki never made any sense. Minato could sympathize, really; he was always aggressive when his nightmares prevented him from sleeping several days in a row, and Shukaku’s jinchuriki could never sleep. The tips of the whips turned to sharp points and began stabbing at the teleporting shinobi.

Minato dodged by teleporting out of the battlefield to the small mountain of sand where the first round of his kunai were buried. It wouldn’t do for the fight to move with him, with his kunai buried in a single place he did not have the advantage of terrain here, but he didn’t want his old friend Gamako to be in immediate danger when he summoned her. 

Gamako was a green toad with blue spots nearly as tall as Gamabunta. She didn’t affect a sword or a gangster’s posture like Bunta did and instead of spitting oil like him, she had the most powerful fire style on Mount Myoboku. 

“It is an honor to be chosen to aid you, Lord Fourth Hokage,” she said modestly. 

“The honor is mine, that you have come in my time of need.”

“It would appear that your enemy is on the move,” Gamako murmured politely. The jinchuriki was racing across the desert on a wave of sand toward Minato. “Perhaps we should—“ 

“Indeed.” Minato leapt onto the toad’s head. In perfect synchronization, he fired off his Wind Scythe to blend seamlessly with her Fire Ball. The resulting explosion was more powerful than any individual attack could possibly be. It melted the attacking sand tendrils into glass. The boy had been smart enough to throw up a second wall of sand to shield against the attack, but a second attempt would blow him away. He clearly knew it, too. Minato could see his left eye turning black, with that green diamond of a pupil emerging. Killing a jinchuriki wouldn’t stop Shukaku, but it would be a decade or so before he could materialize again, and even then, he might not remember that Naruto was the vessel for Kurama. 

“Rethink this, kid,” Minato said. “You’re powerful. You’ve been controlling Shukaku for this entire fight, but if you can’t control him enough to back down, I’ll end this fight another way. I can’t let you endanger my son.” 

As if on cue Naruto and Kakashi both came running up to interpose themselves between Minato and his adversary. A number of other Leaf and Sand Shinobi were close behind the pair, though they at least had the sense to stay far away from the fighting. 

“Dad! Don’t hurt Gaara!”

“Say, Minato, how ya’ feeling?” 

“Gaara? Your friend Gaara?” 

The boy stopped attacking and the tentacles of sand shrank somewhat. 

“Naruto. This person struck you.” 

“Um, yeah. I don’t really know what that was about, but he’s my Dad and it didn’t really hurt, you know!” 

“This boy is your friend Gaara who lives in Sand. You just neglected to mention that he was Shukaku’s jinchuriki?” 

“Why would that matter? He’s my friend!” 

“You haven’t noticed that Shukaku and Kurama want to kill each other? That they, in fact, have a grudge that spans centuries and dates back to the time of the Sage of Six Paths.” 

“Shukaku wants to kill everyone,” Gaara said tonelessly. “I was unaware that you had a father, Naruto.” 

“Everybody has a father, Gaara! And anyway, Dad, if you’re feeling okay, you should stop fighting.”

“Apparently,” Minato agreed bemusedly. “Gamako, my apologies and thanks. I don’t intend to be rude, but—“ 

“Of course, Lord Minato. I quite understand how my continued presence could be misconstrued as aggressive in this particular situation. Young man, I quite apologize for my part in the misunderstanding.” 

Gaara dipped his chin in an abbreviated nod of acknowledgement as Gamako disappeared. “Can I infer then, that rather than being an enemy who infiltrated the Leaf delegation, you are the resurrected Fourth Hokage that we have had reports of?”

“Wow, Gaara! That’s pretty smart! Yeah, my dad is a really great, super strong shinobi, you know!” 

“I apologize for attacking you, Sir Gaara. I believed that tightening Naruto’s seal and removing you from his vicinity was the best manner to prevent what I assumed would be a dangerous fight between two tailed beasts.” 

“Then you’re the one who placed the Nine Tails in Naruto initially.” 

“At his birth, yes.” 

Gaara turned to Naruto. “I could still kill him for you if you like.”

“What? No!”

Gaara turned back to Minato. “I accept your apology.” 

“Thank you.” 

The entire group of Leaf genin and their accompanying chunin and jonin were gathered at the edge of the battleground with a large number of Sand shinobi. Minato had no idea what to do as they closed in. There was no reasonable explanation for his behavior that he could give. As always, Kakashi stepped in to save him. 

“Okay, kids, show’s over. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai will help Minato clean up the landscape while the rest of us head on to the welcome and our accommodations. The four of you shouldn’t have trouble finding us.” 

Gaara was also helpful. He sent the Sand shinobi away at once. “I have decided not to kill him, you can go.” 

“But, Lord Gaara—“

“Go.” 

They went. 

“So Gaara,” Naruto asked, gathering kunai clumsily while the other boy stiffly allowed Sakura to heal the light burns on his arms. “Are you taking the test again this time around?” 

“No. If you recall, I was already a chunin leading a squad the last time you saw me.” 

“Oh right! Those two guys weren’t much of a squad, though!” 

“They have since improved. As have I. I am a jonin. It is my hope that the rest of the jonin council will soon see the wisdom of making me Kazekage.” 

“What? Seriously! You’re going to be the next Kazekage?” 

“I am attempting. There is not any single candidate who could dream of defeating me the way my father could when I was a small child, and my siblings support me. I will become—as you once said—a person that everyone can respect.” 

“That’s terrific Gaara! Really great! I mean, I’m a little jealous, but—“ 

“Don’t be. I expect many more attempts to kill me before the final decision is made.” 

“What?” 

“I will handle them. The important thing is that I handle them while suppressing Shukaku. The implication that even I would be a Kazekage who could not control the dangerous jinchuriki would be damaging to my chances.” 

“Dad can help you with that! He showed me how to get some of the demon chakra that I can use whenever I want, you know! You just have to conquer your hatred!” 

Gaara looked hopefully at Minato, but he didn’t say anything. 

“Are you still using the Dream Seal?”

“Yes. If I fall asleep, he takes control, but I have not allowed that to happen in months. I do not know what Naruto means by conquering my hatred, but I have also not killed anyone in a comparable amount of time.” 

“That is very impressive. Have you had him since infancy?” 

“Yes. He was placed in me while I was still in my mother’s womb.” 

“Very, very impressive. You must have natural chakra even more abundant than an Uzumaki. Unfortunately, the Uzumaki methods still won’t work for you. They are intended to allow a completely contained tailed beast freedom bit by bit until real symbiosis is achieved; you already have a symbiosis with Shukaku built into the Dream Seal. It is a terrible one, I’m sorry to say. I have never heard of a jinchuriki surviving with Shukaku this long without going completely insane.” 

“Perhaps I did, for a time. I killed indiscriminately to prove that I was strong and worthy of survival. Naruto saved me.” 

“Oh?”

Once all of the kunai were gathered up, Gaara was able to flatten out the destroyed terrain with a wave of one hand. It was an elegant show of strength from someone so young. Minato could envision him as a Kazekage easily. 

“I want to be a man who is respected—someone who can have friends. Naruto proved that it is possible for people like us to do so.” 

“You clearly are. Despite not actually telling me any useful or descriptive information about you, Naruto spent the whole trip here talking about his friend Gaara in Sand Village.”

“It is true,” Sai said expressionlessly. “Apparently, you are very much like me, but apparently better in nearly every aspect.” 

Gaara smirked. “Well, everyone has to start somewhere.” 

“You have only one friend,” Minato remembered. “I hope you are not unwilling to make others.”

Gaara’s smile did not grow, but it did seem warmer somehow. “I am not. Please allow me to escort the four of you into the village.”


	33. Chapter 33

“So you tried to kill Gaara,” the elderly Sand jonin escorting Minato around the Kazekage’s Mansion observed. 

“Ah, yes. I acted very rashly. The last time I met Shukaku—in his previous host—he was very serious about attempting to kill me. Please accept my deepest apologies; I did not realize that Gaara was in complete control. It is relatively unprecedented, not that that excuses my behavior in any way.” 

“Oh, no apologies are needed. Had you succeeded, all of Sand would be in your debt. As you point out, a Shukaku jinchuriki can hardly be stable.”

“Ah.” 

“It’s a shame that even you were unable to kill him—or perhaps the fight was merely called off too soon? I notice that neither of you sustained any serious injuries.” 

“No, as I said, Gaara seems like a very moderate young man. I do not know which of us would have won in the end, though I can guess that the price would have been a high one for whomever the victor might have been.” 

“A pity. Not, of course, that we would care to impose upon Leaf for a solution to an internal problem such as this. We will find a way to control him.” 

“I’m sure you will control him the way strong shinobi are always controlled by their villages.” 

“Oh?” 

“We rely on them. A dog that does not slip his leash wants something from his master. As long as he is given treats instead of beatings, he will be loyal.” 

“Unfortunately, people are often more complicated.” 

“Perhaps, but I have never heard of anyone being bitten by a happy raccoon, either.” 

“You are a very wise man, Lord Fourth Hokage. I am almost pleased that the current Hokage could not come herself for political reasons.” 

“If I may confide, good sir, it wasn’t entirely political reasons—or perhaps, more accurately, not the same ones you suspect.”

“Oh?”

“My son is to be one of the young men attempting the test. I greatly desired being here in person, but the Hokage’s advisors were entirely against the current Hokage and someone of my standing leaving the village for the same well-publicized location at the same time, especially with so many jonin. It seemed to them that we would be leaving the village entirely too vulnerable.” 

“I see.” 

“I hope that you would not think it a slight. The friendship between Leaf and Sand has always been very important to me. We are, after all, the closest of allies.” 

“Despite our attack on your village a year ago?”

“But you were victims in that instance as well! We hold Orochimaru entirely responsible for that incident. After all, you lost your Kazekage and have as yet been completely unable to replace him. A whole year without a village leader—no, you were far more injured by that incident than we were. Frankly, it seems to me that Leaf was entirely at fault for it, having yet to deal with such a powerful rogue from our village. I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to hunt him down for that and his many other offenses.” 

Having successfully implied that Leaf Village was as powerful as ever and it continued to desire about peace with Sand, Minato changed the subject. He asked about the décor, the chunin exam, and culture in the Land of Wind. It was nice to see the old man seriously contemplating what a powerful Kazekage would be worth to the village. Minato only hoped that he wouldn’t have reason to regret the suggestion once Gaara had been appointed. 

Gaara certainly seemed interested in being friendly with Minato. Early in the morning, when Naruto, Sakura, and Sai went to begin the first part of their three-part exam, he stopped by Minato’s rooms. 

“I do not mean to intrude,” he said, looking at Kakashi. Kakashi didn’t look up from his book.

“Not at all, I need a distraction,” Minato said firmly. He had a book of his own, but he hadn’t been able to read a word. Instead, he had been worrying about Naruto and distracting himself by watching the way the breeze at the window tussled Kakashi’s hair. 

“I cannot offer that.” 

“Ah. Well. What can I help you with?” 

“Interference with and observation of the first two parts of the chunin exam is strictly forbidden. This is because even observation can affect a person’s actions if they know they are being observed by someone other than their exam proctor.” 

“Yes. I know. I wasn’t intending to break Sand’s rules—I agree with them. Naruto would make very different choices during his exam if he suspected I was watching him. I certainly don’t want that.”

“I was intending to observe Naruto’s exam and wondered if you cared to join me.” 

“Absolutely.” 

Kakashi looked up from his book. “Don’t get caught.” 

“We will not need to leave this room,” Gaara said. “Though you may wish to sit. It is a long exam.” 

“Of course,” Minato said, gesturing to the table. “Can I offer you some tea?” 

“No. Thank you. Please sit.” 

“Can I join you?” Kakashi asked. 

“No. Unless the Fourth Hokage is uninterested. I have only recently developed a way to include a second person in this jutsu. Adding a third would be impossible.” 

Minato shrugged an apology to Kakashi, who picked up his book again and feigned disinterest. Minato sat down.

Gaara began forming seals. Snake, monkey, rat, monkey, bird, monkey, dragon, monkey, rat, monkey—it was a complicated jutsu. Then he put his left hand against his left eye while simultaneously covering Minato’s left eye with his right hand. Immediately, Minato was aware of a different room. He closed his right eye and allowed that awareness to inform his perspective. 

The room was small and brown, like most of Sand. A single glass of pale purple liquid sat on a plain table. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were the only three test-takers in the room, facing a single proctor. 

“The poison is deadly,” the proctor confirmed. “The one who drinks it will not survive, but the two who can move on from a comrade’s death and complete the exam will have shown that they have what it takes to lead.” 

“You want one of us to drink a deadly poison?” Sakura asked. “We’d hardly be a three man cell if we lose one member in the first five minutes of the exam.” 

“A three man cell doesn’t get promoted to chunin, a person does: a person who can deal with the loss of a comrade.” 

“Sai, can you transform into me?” Naruto asked.

“I hardly think a diversionary tactic is going to work here, Naruto.” 

“You can always leave the way you came in,” the proctor said. “Forfeit the test if you don’t want to continue, but only those who exit through the door behind me will have a chance to become chunin.” 

“Just trust me and do it!” Naruto demanded. Sai obediently transformed into a perfect mirror image of Naruto. In return, Naruto grabbed the poison and downed it in a single gulp before either of his teammates could stop him. 

“Naruto!” Sakura rushed to catch him as he fell to the floor cramping. She gathered green healing chakra in her hands and began to help him, but she clearly didn’t know how best to begin. 

“It isn’t real poison.” Gaara pushed Minato back into his seat.

“Poison?” Kakashi asked, as Naruto was telling Sai and Sakura to leave him and warning Sai not to release his transformation no matter what.

“Naruto drank poison. He sure seems to be hurt by it.” 

“Fine. The poison is real, but he will not die. As soon as the others demonstrate that they can continue without him, he will be given the antidote. This is generally considered the most honorable way to pass the test, though most candidates generally forfeit or ambush the proctor to get past him.” 

Sakura stood, resolutely pulling at Sai to leave the room. After a hesitant moment, Sai—still looking very much like Naruto—allowed himself to be lead. 

“Naruto doesn’t know that he’s going to be give an antidote,” Minato said, unconscionably angry. A warm hand squeezed his shoulder. Kakashi. 

“No. It is not his way to deduce what is at the root of such a test. This has something to do with Sasuke Uchiha.” 

Minato turned to look at Gaara in surprise—not an easy feat when the boy still had one hand pressed over his left eye. 

“It is obvious. Naruto would give his life for any of his friends, but he would not sacrifice himself merely for honor or a chance at their promotion. Not in this way. It is a very rare shinobi who does so, and while that choice is always much lauded in Sand, I doubt that it would be in Leaf. No. Naruto’s actions suggest that he needs someone who looks like him to continue onward no matter what. It is something he is willing to sacrifice his life for without question. Since Sakura is allowing it, I must conclude that it is Sasuke who once again endangers Naruto in this way. Do you believe Orochimaru will attack here?” 

“No.” Minato hesitated, watching the proctor bend over Naruto and congratulate him while giving him an antidote. The proctor was telling the surprised Naruto about his very favorable chances and how much Sand shinobi respected a boy who was so willing to give his life with so little fanfare. 

“Without saying too much,” Kakashi said, squeezing Minato’s shoulder again, “we do suspect that Naruto may be attacked. We have prepared for that eventuality and that plan may eventually bring Sasuke back to Leaf Village.” 

“I see.” 

“Well, I don’t,” joked Kakashi. “So I’ll be going back to my book. Let me know if anything good happens.” He patted Minato on the back in a parting gesture. 

With the awareness focused on his left eye, Minato could see Naruto, Sai, and Sakura were now outside in the morning sun of Sand’s beautiful desert. Gradually, other teams exited the long building behind them through doors similar to the one Naruto’s team remained standing in front of. Clearly, they were attempting to make the most of what little shade the building provided. Finally, the tall Sand jonin who had been standing at attention as the genin milled about spoke. 

“That is everyone. Although only one group passed honorably, all eighteen of you have proven yourselves worthy of continuing on.” Minato noticed that nine of the successful genin were from Leaf, all Naruto’s friends. The other three teams were from Sand, Grass, and Mist respectively. It was a pleasing outcome. 

“The next test is one of survival. Each team will be given a map of this area. At the designated location on the map there are six scrolls. Every team that brings a scroll back to this location within the next two days will pass the test. Anyone who does not fails. It is of no concern to me how you acquire a scroll, but I will remind you that the fewer shinobi you must face in the final round the better your own chances will be. Food and water will not be provided. The desert provides. I suggest you start at once, because the designated location is roughly a full day’s journey. Do your best, and may the worthy succeed.”


	34. Chapter 34

Sai proved his value to the team almost immediately. Once the exam proctor released the genin to begin crossing the desert, Sai simply took out his Super Beast Scroll and drew a bird large enough to carry all three members of his team. Watching with Gaara from the safety of his rooms, Minato was pleased. In the air, the team would be safe from the attacks of other genin. They would also travel more quickly, likely getting a scroll first without much difficulty.

“Is this cheating?” asked Naruto when they were already in the air, soaring ahead of the other groups. 

“Why would using jutsu be cheating?” Sai returned expressionlessly. 

“More importantly,” Sakura said, “how much will this deplete your chakra?”

“According to the map, even flying this trip will take several hours. We will need to walk on the return journey, but the advantage gained by our head start should be enough to offset that challenge.”

“And you’ll be all right to do that?”

“Yes.”

“I mean you’ll have enough chakra left to fight?” 

“Yes.” 

“I’m asking as the team medic, you realize.” 

“Yes.” 

“If I hit you right now, Naruto and I would probably fall to our deaths, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Just checking.” Sakura’s smile could match any of Sai’s, false for fake. 

“This seems like as good a time as any to stop and eat something,” Kakashi said, brining Minato’s attention back to his physical location. Gaara still had one hand over Minato’s left eye and the other hand covering his own eye, feeding them both images of Naruto’s team crossing the desert. With his right eye, Minato could see that the table had been laid out with a typical Wind Country meal. 

“Agreed,” Gaara said, breaking the jutsu. “They do not seem to be in any danger at the moment.” 

Minato felt it would be churlish to object. After all, he had no idea how difficult this technique was for Gaara to maintain. 

“Also,” Kakashi said, “You were too nervous to eat breakfast and it’s well past lunchtime.” 

Minato relented. “Thank you, Kakashi.” 

Minato actually quite liked the food in the Land of Wind. Everything was a little spicier than the cuisine of the Land of Fire, but that was a nice change of pace. Even the fact that most things were served cold was fun—pleasant given how hot the weather was. Minato especially enjoyed the golden bean paste that was offered as a staple at every meal. He spread it thickly over the flat, round bread and ate slice after delicious slice. Kakashi also seemed to like the hummus. While he was eating in his usual fashion—never letting anyone see him take a bite or lower his mask—the bowl of it closest to his plate emptied rapidly. 

“It surprises me,” Gaara said stiffly, “that a visiting dignitary of your stature has not been offered any amusements for today. Surely no one imagines that this trial will be completed quickly.” 

“Ah, we were offered several tours. I may have declined them on the possibility that my son might need assistance.” 

“Don’t worry,” Kakashi said. “I told everyone that Minato needed to rest after so much travel. No one was offended. Especially not after he let every single member of your jonin council talk his ear off yesterday.” 

“That was not my question. Did you have some other way to watch Naruto’s progress?”

“Ah, no. I established a way for him to call on me in need. Without your assistance, I would have been sitting here waiting for a distress signal.” 

“So you have my utter gratitude,” Kakashi said. “He was about to start fidgeting.” 

“I was going to watch Naruto on my own,” Gaara said. “It is a simple matter to include a second person.” 

“Well, thank you for thinking of me.” 

For a little over an hour, the three men kept a polite conversation going. The food was delicious, and Minato thought it might be best if Gaara rested a little while the team was safely in flight. Civility demanded that Minato really shouldn’t be the one to mention continuing their work. Just as Gaara was clearly about to suggest they resume their observation, there was a knock at the door. As Minato eased the door open, Guy leapt through it forcefully. 

“Lord Hokage! I did not expect that you would be here! I thought I would challenge my Eternal Rival to a Test of Strength that we, as Teachers of Noble Youth, might support our young charges in Spirit, though we cannot be with them during this Time of Trial!” 

“Ah.” 

“However, I see that you have Company; please forgive my Dramatic and Untimely Interruption. Though it is always Good To See You, Young Mister Gaara. My Precious Student Lee told me how you saved him from the Dastardly Kimimaro. I am in Your Debt.” 

“Not at all, Mighty Guy,” Gaara said politely. “I was acting in my capacity as a shinobi of the Sand, under orders to assist our Leaf allies. I did my duty. If anything I did exceeded that, then I hope your student would accept it as an apology for our first chunin exam together.” 

“Anyway, Guy,” said Kakashi, stretching lazily, “a challenge sounds good. What were you thinking?” 

“There is a cluster of boulders nearby. Whichever one of us can lift one the other cannot—he will be proven the Stronger! Perhaps the Lord Fourth Hokage would do us the Very Great Honor of judging!” 

“Sounds good to me,” drawled Kakashi. “Not much chance of disturbing the locals or causing an incident. I’m in, but Minato has other plans.” 

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for including me in your very kind invitation, Guy, but Gaara and I have some business that I would like to see to completion at this time, much as I would love to accompany you.” 

As Guy made all the proper polite noises and manhandled Kakashi out of the apartment, Minato realized just how true his demurral had been. Watching a vigilant, cautious shinobi like Kakashi make a blatant display of purely physical strength was—well, it would have been a pleasure. Still, Minato would much rather watch Naruto’s progress to be sure his son did not come to harm. He wondered if he was becoming something of a voyeur in his old age. 

“Shall we continue?” asked Gaara. This time, as they sat together at the clean, wooden table, Minato was ready. He blinked slowly as Gaara’s hand covered his left eye, and he found himself looking once more at Naruto flying over the desert with Sai and Sakura. 

Naruto and Sai were arguing about something meaningless. Sakura just looked bored, sitting at the back end of the bird with her hands loosely wrapped around Naruto’s waist. Perhaps she could have provided a buffer between the fighting boys, but Minato understood why a girl her age wouldn’t want to give a boy an excuse to hang all over her. Suddenly, she sat forward with renewed enthusiasm. 

“Is that it?” she asked, interrupting the boys and pointing to the horizon. Sai and Naruto immediately stopped their squabbling. 

Through Gaara's jutsu, Minato could see it too—the tall plateau jutting proudly from the surrounding rocks. Atop the plateau were six stone pillars, each with a scroll resting at its base. 

“Great!” Naruto said, throwing his hands in the air and nearly falling off the back of Sai’s illustrated bird. “Let’s get down there!” 

“That would be premature,” Sai said. “The scrolls may be trapped.” 

“Don’t be a wimp, Sai! We can handle a little trap!” 

“Why should we?” he asked, taking out his scroll and sketching a snake quickly. The animal shot from Sai’s brush down to the plateau below. It’s landing didn’t seem to affect anything, neither did it slithering forward to tug one of the scrolls away from it’s pillar. 

“See! No trap!” 

“So it would appear,” Sai agreed, wheeling the bird in a slow downward spiral to land in the exact center of the circle of pillars. The three young shinobi slid off the bird’s back and the animal promptly disappeared. For a moment, everything seemed to be fine. For a moment. 

There was a flash of light and an explosion of dust at the surface of the plateau revealing the black lines of a powerful barrier jutsu. Naruto and his teammates fell flat, unable to resist the trap. Minato told himself it was just part of the test. It was reassuring for a few seconds, but through Gaara’s jutsu, Minato could see what his son could not. Two men in black cloaks bearing the insignia of red clouds strolled casually up the side of the plateau. One of the men had blue skin and what appeared to be gills. The other had long black hair. He hadn’t activated his Sharingan, and it had been over a decade since Minato had seen him as a small child, but there was no question. 

It was Itachi.


	35. Chapter 35

Minato had been joking at the time, but he seriously regretted not tattooing his teleportation marker on Naruto. "Do you know their exact location?" he asked Gaara. 

"Yes. Come with me."

The red headed shinobi leapt out of the open window. Minato moved seamlessly with him so that the boy could keep his hand over Minato's left eye as they fell. Watching Itachi slowly walk toward Naruto definitely took precedence over worrying about where they would land. In fact, Minato and Gaara didn't hit the ground at all, the sand rose to meet them in a giant tidal wave that didn't slow at all before sweeping them through the village streets toward the desert. 

“You are the Akatsuki,” grunted Sai who was, to all appearances, completely unable to lift his head or move at all. 

Neither Itachi nor the blue skinned shinobi—whom Minato surmised was the Monster of the Hidden Mist Kisame Hoshigaki—answered Sai, they just kept advancing casually. 

“I mean can you tell me where exactly they are right now in four dimensional space-time coordinates?” Minato asked Gaara. “I can teleport us there at once, but I need a marker.” 

“I’m sorry,” Gaara answered as Naruto was struggling to crane his neck and confirm their attacker’s identity for Sai. “I wouldn’t know how to communicate the location. I’ll get us there as quickly as I can.” 

“Yeah,” Sakura whispered. “That’s Itachi Uchiha. That’s Sasuke’s older brother.”

Through the jutsu, Minato could see Sai’s inky snake. It didn’t appear that Itachi or his partner had noticed it. The animal had been outside of the barrier jutsu when it activated, so it wasn’t trapped like the young shinobi. Minato watched as it slithered inconspicuously toward his son. 

“If they are Akatsuki, my orders are clear,” Sai said softly. 

Minato shivered. It felt like he couldn’t breathe. The snake was barely inches from Naruto’s neck. Sai’s orders were to keep Naruto from being taken alive; he had said so himself. The snake reached Naruto. Too late, Itachi realized what was happening. He threw a shuriken with speed that might have rivaled Minato’s own. The snake splattered in a puddle of ink, but it had already reached it’s objective. 

The links of Naruto’s safety chain scattered across the top of the plateau after the snake successfully broke it off the boy’s neck. Minato didn’t even bother to check the bracelet he’d entangled the chain with; he could sense the new markers. Grabbing Gaara by the arm, he teleported them both to the scene without any hesitation. 

The moment they arrived Minato opened two scrolls, shooting his kunai across the surface of the plateau to embed in the rocks and pillars. A few of the markers even went careening down to the ground, giving Minato the option of teleporting easily out of the immediate battlefield. Less than a second passed before he fired off his second jutsu—a teleportation redirect—sending Kisame far, far away. 

Scarcely much slower than Minato himself, Gaara sprang into action as well, breaking the visual jutsu and forming seals with both hands to fire dozens of sand kunai at Itachi. 

"Please allow me to handle Itachi," Minato requested. "If you could focus on protecting and freeing Naruto's team, I would be very grateful." 

Gaara didn't say a word. However, he immediately formed a wall of sand between Itachi and the trapped shinobi. Minato couldn't see through the sand, but he was sure that Gaara was working to release the barrier jutsu behind it.

"It would seem you came back without your edge, Lord Fourth Hokage," said Itachi. He had dodged Gaara's knives while barely moving. Other than activating his Sharingan, he had yet to make a truly aggressive move. "Kisame will be headed back this way, and I continue to breathe. You should have dispatched us both before we were aware of you. At one time, you would have been capable of that." 

"But that would completely defeat my purpose in coming here," Minato objected. Unlike Itachi Minato was moving quite a bit. He teleported randomly from kunai to kunai. If he was lucky, it would prevent the Akatsuki member from targeting him. "We need your help to save your younger brother, after all, and I hardly wanted to prejudice you against our cause by killing your companion." 

"You need my help."

"Indeed. As it was your lies that set him on his current destructive path, it is my hope that hearing the truth about the Uchiha Massacre directly from you will be reason enough for him to right himself."

"The truth. You can't—the Third Hokage promised me that he would never know the truth. You shouldn't know it." 

"The truth about a tragedy like yours must always come to light, Itachi, especially when the responsible parties continue to have so much power in the village. I'm afraid that whether or not you agree to help me, everyone will soon know what Danzo made you do. Poor confused Sasuke will learn of it one way or another. It really would be best for him if—“

Minato made fatal misstep. The reports on Itachi specifically noted that the Uchiha was capable of putting a genjutsu on an enemy with his Akatsuki Ring as well as his Sharingan, so Minato had been carefully avoiding looking at him at all. Unfortunately, taking his eyes off of the enemy was hardly the best decision Minato had ever made during a battle; it gave Itachi the opportunity to activate a second barrier jutsu. He timed it perfectly so that Minato was directly in the center of his circle when it activated. Minato could teleport out, of course, easily, but it slowed him down. That half a second was all that Itachi needed—Minato blinked involuntarily and looked into his eyes. He looked right into the Mangekyo Sharingan. 

The world in Itach’s genjutsu was dark and Minato couldn’t move, but it wasn’t cold or painful, so it could have been worse. Minato immediately began trying to break the jutsu. Of course, Itachi didn’t leave him alone. 

“I always respected you, Lord Hokage,” the Uchiha said casually, stabbing a long sword through Minato’s stomach. “However, Sasuke cannot know the truth. We will remain here until I have your agreement.”

“Why did you lie to him in the first place?” Minato tried to ignore the second and third swords stabbing into his leg and chest. He also tried to continue lowering his chakra level to break out of the genjutsu. He did not have much success. “Why make him hate you?” 

“After what I did, don’t I deserve to be hated?” 

“You certainly deserve to be punished. We intend to try you for the crime when you return to the village.” 

“I thought you knew the circumstances.” 

“You were following orders, but that was not an order that should have been followed. I know it isn’t fair—I know that—but sometimes a shinobi needs to exercise his judgment. He needs to be able to say no to something like that. Danzo and the other advisors must be held accountable for what happened, but so must you.” Minato took a deep breath. He knew the pain wasn’t real, and that he didn’t really need a break from it, but it was hard to reconcile the knowledge with the sensations. He pressed on. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it very much. I imagine you will be imprisoned for a few years, and I know that part of your sentence will be to assist us in rescuing Sasuke.” Minato had to pause for a moment as Itachi thrust a sword into his shoulder. “It is possible that you will be asked to help us defeat the Uchiha who is heading the Akatsuki.” 

“The Uchiha in control of the Akatsuki is Madara, you know, unless the Hokage hasn’t passed my information on to you. Defeating him isn’t going to be an easy matter.” Itachi twisted the blade in Minato’s stomach. It was interesting. As familiar as Minato had become with torture over the years, clearly Itachi did not have much of a gift for it. He was too clinical—too methodical—it was clear that he didn’t want to be in the genjutsu any more than Minato did. Unfortunately, he had an option. If he gave up on the conversation entirely, he could leave Minato to be tortured by the jutsu itself. Minato dampened his chakra further, decreasing its flow as much as he could without entering a state of perfect meditation. He needed to take advantage of Itachi’s attention while he had the chance. 

“The Fifth Hokage hasn’t been given any of the information you have passed to the village about the Akatsuki. She didn’t even know you were a spy until I found the Third Hokage’s records on the subject. She agrees with me that Sasuke is more important than whatever information you may gather in the future, even if Danzo would deign to share it with us. I would think you would agree as well.” 

“Of course Sasuke is important to me.” 

“Then why let him be taken by Orochimaru? Why set him on a path that would force him to leave his friends behind?” 

It worked. Itachi’s concentration wavered with his anger just enough that when Minato ramped up his chakra in one massive push, he broke free of the genjutsu. 

“To make Sasuke _powerful_ ,” Itachi said, carrying the conversation over to the real world even as Minato slammed his eyes shut. 

The vertigo from his sudden escape was too great, Minato couldn’t answer. He needed to resume teleporting around the battlefield to avoid a second attack while he adjusted to the fact that his body was not mortally wounded in six different places after all. Naruto was the one who picked up the slack. Apparently Gaara had freed Naruto’s team without evacuating them. Well, time did not pass the same way inside a genjutsu, so perhaps he hadn’t had the chance. 

“Why can’t he just be happy?” Naruto asked, sounding truly sad. “Sasuke wants to kill you and he thinks he needs to be alone to do that. But even if that works—even if he does kill you—I don’t think that will make him happy. How could killing someone make him happy?” 

“It might not make him happy, but it will give him the Mangekyo and make him strong. He worry about being happy when he’s safe.” 

“You’re strong. You’re safe. Are you happy? Did being powerful and alone make you happy?” 

Itachi stared at Naruto. Minato readied himself to intervene, but Naruto was breathing hard as he stared back with no sign that he had been placed under a genjutsu. 

“I would do anything,” Naruto continued, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, “give anything, to protect my friends, because being alone didn’t make me happy. Sasuke thought that being alone made me strong, but it didn’t. Finally having a friend like Sasuke was what made me strong. Being alone just made me miserable.”

“He’ll go back to the village—after. When he’s become someone powerful enough to protect the people he cares about—“

“Could you protect the people you cared about?” 

Itachi’s face crumbled. Minato knew from Hiruzen’s account that he’d saved his younger brother at an enormous personal cost, but he hadn’t been able to save anyone else. Itachi was strong—physically and emotionally. So strong that he had been able to kill his mother, his father, and the rest of his family, believing that it was right for the village. Itachi had to know, better than anyone, that strength wasn’t happiness. 

“Come home,” Minato said. “I did. It’s time for you and your brother to come home too. Maybe we failed you, but we won’t fail Sasuke. Not with your help. Come home and help us.” 

“Home,” Itachi said finally. He bent his head in defeat, but there was a small smile hidden in the corner of his mouth. “All right.”


	36. Chapter 36

Of course the exam proctors showed up after they could no longer be of any help. Six Sand shinobi appeared, one at the top of each pillar, to accuse Minato and Itachi of interfering with the exam process. Obviously, they didn’t recognize Itachi. 

“Stop,” Gaara said simply. It didn’t seem possible that the proctors hadn’t noticed his presence. Minato surmised that they were overlooking the boy because they didn’t want to deal with him. From the way all six ninja stilled and reluctantly focused their attention on the jinchuriki, it was evident that they feared him. 

“Lord Gaara,” one man tried to begin, but Gaara—standing impassively with his arms crossed over his chest—lifted two fingers and he fell silent. 

“This man is an S-rank criminal and a member of the Akatsuki,” Gaara said. “He attacked the chunin candidates with a partner in an attempt to capture the Fourth Hokage’s son. I brought the Fourth Hokage here, and the criminal surrendered to him. I will continue to escort them so that nothing troublesome occurs.” 

“Lord Gaara, you must see that—“ Apparently, whatever Gaara must see was not important enough for the man to brave his displeasure by pointing it out. Minato felt a wave of pity. The life of a jinchuriki was a lonely one. 

“My son and his teammates broke no rules and have done nothing wrong, but to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, they will withdraw from the exam at this time.” 

The Sand shinobi fell at once into grateful bows. “We truly mean no offense, Lord Hokage.”

“It is only for the sake of appearances, of course, Lord Hokage.” 

“Thank you for your understanding, Lord Hokage.” 

“Of course the son of a man such as your illustrious self would never do anything inappropriate,” they all chorused. Minato began to think that the stoic demeanor that seemed stereotypical of the Sand people was a dramatic exaggeration. On the other hand, there was Gaara. 

“Naruto deserves to be promoted.” 

“Thanks, Gaara, but it’s all right, you know. This way I can take the exam again with Sasuke like I wanted to!” Naruto’s smile was incandescent. Neither he nor Sakura looked at all disappointed about having to quit the exam, but then, the real mission had been accomplished. 

“As you wish.” 

“Excellent.” One of the nervous proctors stepped forward. “If you will accompany me, we can see you safely back to the village before any of the other candidates make it this far.” 

“There is a matter we should discuss before we leave this place,” Minato said, casually gathering up a few of his kunai. Naruto, ever eager to please, popped a few shadow clones into existence to bounce around collecting the rest for his father.

“Sir?” the proctor asked respectfully. 

“Your partner—Kisame, the Demon of the Hidden Mist—will he come back here? If he does the other genin will be in danger. I could go kill him quickly, if you think it is necessary.” 

“I don’t doubt that you could, Lord Fourth Hokage,” Itachi said slowly, “and I would recommend that you do so, if it was needed to preserve the peace, but I do not think that it is. He will have sensed that I surrendered instead of fighting, and it is not in his nature to rescue such a person. Instead, he will return to the Akatsuki to report before taking further action.” 

“You are protecting your compatriot,” Gaara observed. 

“Say rather my partner,” Itachi said impassively. “That organization never had my true loyalty.” 

“Wait,” Naruto interrupted. “You are protecting him?” 

“No, but that is a pointless thing to argue. You will believe that I see him as a comrade or not, and nothing I can say would dissuade you.” Itachi turned back to Minato. “Kisame is a shark. He kills because it is in his nature to do so, and I expect he will be sent to kill me very soon. If you feel you must kill him first, then that is what you must do, but I do not believe the danger he represents is immediate, and I suspect I injured you at least a little during our fight.” 

“Well, if he is not an immediate danger to the children, it would be best to accede to the wishes of our hosts and return to the village.” Minato smiled at the exam proctors. “We will be relying on their kind assistance to make accommodations for our prisoner.” 

The teleportation jutsu arranged by the Sand shinobi to return them to the village quickly was inelegant and overly complicated, though of course Minato didn’t say anything. It was effective, and strong enough to transport the whole party at the same time, so there was no real criticism to be levied, anyway. After that small warm up, Minato’s diplomacy was put to the real test. 

No fewer than six representatives of Sand’s Jonin Council wanted personal explanations for his actions and Itachi’s presence. Minato told them all the absolute truth over and over. The only facet of the story that he omitted was how he came to be aware of the situation in the first place. Minato would never betray the secret of another shinobi’s jutsu, especially not the jutsu of someone he was as indebted to as Gaara. When that question was asked, he always said only that Gaara informed him that Naruto was under attack. Naturally, he also emphasized how grateful he was to the Sand jinchuriki and how pleased he would be to repay that debt at some point in the future. 

“So your opinion of Gaara has changed, then?” Baki, one of the councilmen, asked in the full meeting that took place after all of Minato’s one-on-one conversations. 

“Ah. Please allow me to apologize again for my misunderstanding regarding his nature when I first arrived in your village. My actions were inappropriate, and—“

“That isn’t necessary, Lord Hokage,” Baki said quickly. “My question is only what you think of him now.” 

“I think he’s an excellent shinobi. Strong, trustworthy, and incredibly intelligent, he is one of the best ninja I have ever had the pleasure of teaming up with. While I must hope that there are no situations dangerous enough in our future that he and I would be required to fight side by side again, I look forward to working with him in the diplomatic arena.” 

“That is very magnanimous of you, Lord Hokage,” one of the older councilmen said. “Of course, you have made it very clear that you feel indebted to our jinchuriki.” 

“Indeed I do.” Minato considered saying something further, to drive home that Gaara had been the only shinobi aware of the incursion of an S-rank criminal in the Sand Village territory, but he needed to be diplomatic for the sake of Leaf Village. Gaara was strong enough to fight his own battles, anyway. 

The upshot of his meetings was that the council agreed to keep Itachi under guard until after the chunin exam finished so that Minato could remain to watch the trials with Naruto. It was precisely the outcome that Minato had been hoping for, but when all was said and done Sai objected. 

“We should guard him ourselves and leave at once,” he argued. “Itachi is a dangerous criminal; even our own ANBU will have a difficult time keeping him under surveillance. We cannot trust another village with the task.” 

“Itachi has surrendered,” Minato reassured him. “He will not try to escape.” 

“He murdered his entire clan; you don’t believe that he would lie about surrendering?” 

Arguing with Sai was interesting, because his tone of voice never changed at all. Minato could tell somehow that the boy felt strongly about this, but there was certainly no evidence of it in his voice or face. 

“You disobeyed your orders.”

“What?” 

“You were under orders to kill Naruto if it looked like the Akatsuki had a chance of capturing him. In a situation where you had the opportunity to do so, you instead elected to gamble on the hope that I could defeat two S-rank criminals.” 

“You did.” 

“Nevertheless, you disobeyed your orders.” 

“Yes. I will face my punishment for that when I return.” 

“That isn’t my point. It is precisely because you disobeyed your orders that I feel comfortable telling you that Itachi’s only crime was not disobeying his.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“The Uchiha Clan was orchestrating a coup de tat. The Third Hokage ordered Itachi to handle it, and he did.” 

Sai took a long minute before replying. Minato assumed he was thinking, though of course there was no evidence of it on his face. “Just because he was once loyal does not mean that he can still be trusted. He has been a member of a criminal organization for many years now.” 

“You misunderstand him. Itachi lost his family and his village in the same act. The Third Hokage’s report on the occasion makes it very clear that there is only one thing that still matters to him—his little brother. If it weren’t so horrifying, I would even say that his plan was a good one. Itachi intended to exist as a reviled criminal until Sasuke could reasonably kill him. Sasuke, strengthened by the jutsu Itachi intended to pass to him, would return to Leaf Village as a powerful hero, redeeming the Uchiha name.” 

“You do not think he will still attempt something of the kind?” 

“During our fight, I made it clear to him that too many people know the truth. He cannot possibly kill all of us before it comes to light, and when it does Sasuke will hardly be considered a hero for killing him. Rather, everyone will see both boys for what they are: tragic, mistreated children.” 

Sai nodded in a thoughtful, accepting way. Minato waited. He could tell the boy still had something on his mind. Eventually he spoke again. 

“You said that disobeying my orders made you trust me. How can that be?” 

Minato smiled helplessly at the boy. “You think for yourself and you care about Naruto. Why wouldn’t I trust you?” 

If Minato had had time to worry about it, Sai’s reaction would have been predictable. Conversely, Minato began worrying about Kakashi’s reaction the moment Itachi surrendered. He would understand if Kakashi was upset. In a similar situation, Minato would want to be told about the danger. Kakashi had a right to be angry about not being included in the fight, and Minato would accept it if he was. If Kakashi needed to vent that anger or wanted space to deal with feelings of betrayal, Minato would be prepared. After all, the last time Kakashi had only imagined Minato to be hurt, he had been furious. Minato resolved not to be hurt if something similar happened again. 

Expecting the worst, Minato was surprised to be enfolded in a warm hug the moment Kakashi saw him. Fortunately, that wasn’t an outcome for which he required advanced preparation. He buried his nose in Kakashi’s neck with only the thin black fabric of his friend’s mask to block the scent of sweat and dogs and sand. 

“So, captured Itachi, eh?” Kakashi drawled releasing the embrace after only a few short seconds.

“He surrendered voluntarily once the situation was properly explained.” 

“Just as you thought, not that I doubted you. Still, it looks like you had quite a battle anyway.” 

“Nothing to worry about. I wasn’t trapped in his genjutsu for nearly as long as you were.” 

Kakashi stiffened. “I was referring to your time with the Jonin Council of the Sand. I didn’t realize Itachi had you in that genjutsu.” 

“Ah. Yes, but as I said, it wasn’t of the same duration for me that you experienced.” 

“Have you seen a medic?” The tight anger in every line of Kakashi’s body was in keeping with Minato’s original expectations, so he was prepared for it. 

“It’s a type of pain I am used to. I thought that since the Akatsuki is unlikely to regroup quickly and we are relatively safe in the village of our allies, I might take the tea Lady Tsunade prescribed for me this evening.” 

Kakashi relaxed and appeared to be mollified by the suggestion. “That’s probably for the best,” he said. “You can speak to her when we return to the village. It isn’t as though anyone else would be qualified to treat you.” 

It occurred to Minato that if he expressed a feeling of vulnerability, Kakashi might embrace him again. Horrified at the conniving impulse, Minato made an excuse and fled his friend’s company. Attraction was natural, but taking advantage was unthinkable.


	37. Chapter 37

If anything, the group returning to Leaf Village was even chattier and more cheerful than they had been during the walk to Sand. Seven of their number had been promoted to chunin. It was an excellent showing for the village, especially since only two other genin had been promoted during the exam. Moreover, while the actual facts of his case were still being kept a strict secret, Itachi’s presence couldn’t be concealed. Apparently he was something of a boogeyman to the children, and his capture inflated their general cheer into an exultant, festival mood. 

“Well, Sakura, I’m sure you and Naruto will pass next time,” Ino said in a falsely consoling tone. “After all, you’re the last of our graduating class to still be a genin. It makes sense that you’d be at the bottom with that idiot on your team, after all.” 

“Thanks, Ino,” Sakura said, just as facetiously. “Once we have Sasuke back, I’m sure we will. And since Naruto and I were part of a covert mission to retrieve his brother this time around, that’ll be pretty soon. Of course, I’m sure he’ll understand that your priorities were your own promotion and not his well being.” 

“Hey! I want Sasuke back just as much as you do!” 

“You haven’t been doing anything to show it. Well, you know what they say. Some women’s affections are as fickle as the breeze, while other hearts run as deeply as the sea.” 

The two girls clashed together until Shikamaru and Choji separated them casually. Clearly they were the kind of friends for whom fighting was as natural as breathing. Though there were children in the group for whom fighting came even more naturally.

“You were so great in that last match, Bushy Brows! When you used that extreme kick to knock that Grass dude into his own Earth Style. You totally should have won that fight, you know!” 

Lee smiled modestly at Naruto. “Well, I did my best. Clearly the feudal lords saw fit to promote me even though I did not win the tournament. Perhaps others agreed with you.” 

“No,” Minato said thoughtlessly. “Your fighting style needs more work. You shouldn’t even have made it to that second fight.” 

“Dad!”

Lee looked devastated. “The Lord Hokage is entitled to his opinion, Naruto. I know that I have a lot of hard work left before I can achieve my goals.” 

Minato realized how he’d sounded and smiled. “You misunderstand me, Lee. That’s why we promoted you. You should have lost that first fight, but you won it. And why?” 

“Oh. Um. Well, I didn’t open any of the gates or anything impressive like that.” 

“That was the fight with the girl who summoned all those animals to attack you and she put paper bombs on them and stuff, right?” Naruto asked. 

“They were normal animals that she was controlling with a mental jutsu,” Minato explained, “not summoning creatures.” 

“I did know that,” Lee said quickly. “I’ve met Guy-sensei’s turtles often enough to know the difference. I didn’t like her fighting style much, actually. It seemed to me that the animals could be seriously hurt.” 

“So you disabled her technique.” 

“You mean when I knocked her out?” 

“I mean when you used your speed to remove the bombs from every single animal.”

“Oh.”

“Others saw it as good foresight. It kept her from trapping you in the massive explosion she had planned. I saw in the action a certain greatness of heart.”

Lee blushed furiously. “I. That is.”

“Preventing innocent casualties is an important consideration for a team leader. You are exactly the type of person Leaf Village needs in a position of authority.” 

Naruto grinned and slapped his friend on the back. “Good work, Bushy Brows.” 

Minato hadn’t been exaggerating. He wasn’t the type to support children from his own village if they didn’t deserve promotion. In fact, he believed every single Leaf shinobi who received one had deserved their promotion, with the exception of young Choji. The boy was a good fighter and seemed to be a good friend, but Minato had voted against his advancement. What he had seen during the fights had not impressed him the way it did the feudal lords. 

“Your father will regret missing your triumph,” Neji told Hinata. 

“It was not so much of a triumph,” the modest girl said. “I was very lucky.” 

“You won the tournament and received a promotion. I would call that a triumph.” 

“I might not have if Choji had not surrendered to me without a fight in the second round,” she argued. “His kind heart gave me that victory, not my own work.” 

While Minato didn’t agree with her prediction—the Hyuga was proficient with the Gentle Fist, after all—he agreed with her assessment. The other judges had seen Choji’s surrender to the eventual victor as good judgment. After all, he avoided injury in a fight that he would not have won. Minato saw it the way Hinata did—as kind-heartedness. It was an admirable trait, and one that Minato valued highly in his friends, but a team leader needed to be able to make tough choices. He needed to fight battles he might prefer not to. Minato didn’t know if Choji was ready for that or not, because he hadn’t shown anything of the sort during his exam. Hopefully the boy would have plenty of time to think and grow as a leader before he needed to exercise such a trait.

Perhaps it was strange that Lee’s display of kindness was what made Minato feel confident in his ability to lead, while Choji’s led him to doubt. However, it certainly wasn’t the strangest thing that occurred during the long walk back to Leaf Village. That was a late night conversation between Itachi and Sai. 

What Itachi observed with his Uchiha eyes was always an unknown, but Sai clearly wasn’t aware of Minato’s quiet surveillance when he approached the nominal prisoner during his watch. 

“You were an ANBU captain.” 

“Are you looking for tips?”

“No.”

Neither shinobi spoke, but Minato couldn’t feel the tell tale evidence that Itachi had placed the boy in a genjutsu either. To the contrary, Sai’s chakra was agitated in a way that suggested a highly emotional state. 

“The Fourth Hokage suggested that your eventual plan was to die for your brother’s promotion.”

“I would not say promotion.” 

“What then?”

“Security, perhaps.” 

“Why not take him and go away?”

“What do you mean?” 

“My brother made such a choice.” 

Itachi was silent for a long moment. “I’m sorry.” 

“It would have been better to go away together, I think. He didn’t need to choose to die. I didn’t need to be promoted. We could have just—gone someplace else.” 

“You are ROOT.”

“Yes.” 

“It is easy for older brothers to assume they know best. He probably thought you would have a better life with Danzo’s protection in the village than his as wandering rogues.” 

“I do not understand that conjecture. It would have been better for us to be together.”

“Perhaps.”

“Naruto is the first person I’ve met who understands that. That it would have been better for us to be together. I thought you might be able to explain the alternate point of view satisfactorily.” 

Itachi laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “I don’t know that I can. Certainly it won’t be to Sasuke’s satisfaction.” 

“Very well. Thank you for your time. I will allow you to rest as befits a prisoner in your circumstances.” 

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“You do understand that he did it because he loved you, right?” 

“No. I still do not know what that particular expression means. It seems to be a socially acceptable excuse for a myriad of sins.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“You do not owe me an apology. However, I hope that you have truly reconsidered your plan as Lord Minato says you have.” 

“When I killed my family, I gave Danzo a lot of power.” 

“Lord Danzo would be a powerful man no matter what.” 

“Perhaps.” 

“Good night, Criminal Itachi.” 

“Good night, ANBU Sai.” 

In the end, the walk home was too short for Minato’s liking. He knew that truly happy times were rare. The young shinobi would see more battles and less laughter than they should. A large part of him wanted to stop time for them all—to keep them always teasing, joyful, young, and alive. Of course the chakra expenditure for such a jutsu would be astronomical, not to mention that the geographical area was not ideal for isolating a jutsu of the kind. Of course the utter immorality of such an action was also discouraging. Still, it was tempting. Especially when Kakashi slung an arm over Minato’s shoulders to tease him about how worried he’d been. They walked side by side that way for over half an hour. The selfish part of Minato wanted to walk that way forever. 

Doing so would have denied the triumphant children their greatest happiness, though, when they returned to the village to find that news of the results had preceded their little group. Everyone’s families were waiting eagerly at the gate. Hinata’s father put a warm hand on her shoulder and told her she had made her whole clan proud. The whole Inuzuka Clan was already waiting for Kiba. They tackled him with all of their dogs, piling on top of him and Akamaru. Choji’s mother and father enveloped him in an enormous hug. Even Iruka was waiting. He clasped Naruto’s shoulder and said, “Next time.” 

Minato would have liked to remain to watch the happy reunions. Unfortunately, duty required him to escort Itachi to the Hokage at once. Kakashi and Asuma accompanied him. 

“I’ll come too,” Naruto volunteered.

“Don’t you want to go to the party Shikamaru is arranging?” Minato asked. 

It was very clear that Naruto really, really did, but he denied it quickly. 

“I’ll fill you in on everything later,” Minato promised. “Go be with your friends. It’s important to celebrate things like this, or they’ll think you’re jealous.” 

“But I’m not. I’m really, really happy for everyone.” 

“So go be happy. Stay out late. I’ll see you at home.” 

“Thanks, Dad. I love you!” 

“I love you, too,” Minato said quietly to Naruto’s disappearing back. He doubted the boy heard him since he was already leaping on top of Shikamaru, but it didn’t matter. It was true either way.


	38. Chapter 38

"You look exhausted," Lady Tsunade said bluntly. Kakashi had been hinting at much the same thing when he'd excused himself from the debriefing claiming travel fatigue. 

"Indeed Lord Fourth Hokage," Tenzo agreed. "We can handle the immediate arrangements and discuss the matter further tomorrow." Minato didn't know the man personally, but Kakashi had insisted that he was the only ANBU trustworthy enough to head Itachi’s guard. When Kakashi spoke highly of someone, Minato listened. Of course, that much trust also implied a level of friendship that might cause Tenzo to bow to Kakashi’s wishes. Kakashi clearly wanted Minato to go to bed. 

“I am well enough,” Minato said firmly. “It would be best to strategize for what we all know is coming now, while we have time to do so.”

“Right,” Lady Tsunade said. “When was the last time you slept?”

Since he was addressing her as his Hokage instead of his physician, Minato didn’t feel the need to answer that. “The smartest thing for Danzo to do now would be a preemptive attack,” he said. “While I hate to believe that anyone who has served the village’s interests as long as he has would be capable of such a thing, we ought to be prepared for it. The question is, does he know it’s necessary?” 

“I placed him under a Mangekyo Genjutsu,” Itachi told the Hokage. “He fought it off, but I would not be surprised if he has not slept since then.” 

Lady Tsunade looked very grim; Minato felt compelled to defend Itachi. “I took my tea and slept deeply that very night. Itachi did not injure me as deeply as he suspects, I simply felt that our position while traveling was less secure than I would like.” 

“Meaning you didn’t sleep at all while you were on the road,” Lady Tsunade surmised correctly. 

“If I didn’t feel that I was alert enough to be of use to you, I would naturally leave at once, Lady Hokage. You previously expressed an interest in my advice and I am here to give it to you.”

“I’ll take it tomorrow,” she said firmly. “After you’ve slept for at least six hours.” 

Minato bowed. He couldn’t disobey a direct order from the Hokage so, despite his misgivings, he excused himself. Still, he was feeling contrary enough to walk instead of teleporting himself directly to the Hatake Compound. Had he done so, he would have arrived much earlier and the night might have turned out differently. 

“Everything okay?” Kakashi asked, coming into the hallway to greet him. “When I couldn’t convince you to come home, I assumed you were at the Hokage’s Mansion for the long haul.” 

Minato made a helpless sound in response. It certainly wasn’t a coherent word.

Kakashi was naked. No, Minato hastily corrected the thought. Kakashi was perfectly decent. Kakashi was wearing black cotton pants and a loose black tank top—clothing that anyone might wear out and around the village if they didn’t mind people seeing their sleep wear—he certainly wasn’t naked. He just wasn’t wearing his mask. He wasn’t even wearing anything over his left eye; he just had it closed. The way his silver hair drooped with water implied that he had been bathing. Perhaps Minato’s return had interrupted him. Minato could see his whole face. It wasn’t something he was prepared for. 

“Minato?” asked Kakashi, clearly concerned. He crossed the distance between them quickly. Minato knew with a kind of wicked certainty that Kakashi would touch him if he didn’t answer. Something was clearly very wrong with him for even considering worrying his friend in such an incredibly selfish pursuit. 

“Fine,” he answered immediately. That was good. As soon as he was able to stop staring at Kakashi’s mouth he was going to count it as a success. “Lady Tsunade ordered me to leave.” 

“Oh?” Kakashi asked. His lips bowed ever so slightly with the word. They looked softer than Minato remembered from the last time he’d had an opportunity like this one. “ _Really?_ ”

Finally Minato forced himself to look up into Kakashi’s eyes. Both were open, though Kakashi didn’t seem upset or apprehensive in a way that indicated danger. In fact, he was smiling a little. He looked happy.

“Are you okay?” he asked uncertainly. Kakashi didn’t open his Sharingan casually.

“Oh _yes_ ,” Kakashi said. Was his voice usually quite that deep? Minato found that he was once again watching Kakashi’s mouth form the words. It was distracting. “I’m feeling unexpectedly fortunate at the moment.” Kakashi took a final half step toward Minato, closing the distance between them. They weren’t touching, but Minato could feel warmth radiating from his body. 

“Fortunate?” He managed to ask. Kakashi grinned. It was big and bright—and more rare than the most precious stone. It felt like a kick to the solar plexus. To see Kakashi’s face like this—to see Kakashi’s smile like this—was a privilege that was rarely granted. Minato needed to end this conversation. He needed to excuse himself before Kakashi realized what it meant to him. Before Kakashi realized how deeply Minato longed to close that final, infinitesimal distance between them with something other than the warmth of their friendship. 

“Well the Hokage took my side, didn’t she?” Kakashi asked. “She sent you home to get some sleep.” 

“Right, yes.” It was the best opening Minato was likely to get. “So I’m going to go—do that.” 

He meant to step away. He really, really did. Minato had no idea how he wound up leaning forward and brushing his mouth against Kakashi’s instead. Even that might have passed for innocent—the strange but excusable action of an overtired, mentally unstable man—but Minato hesitated for a beat too long before pulling away. He was astounded by the action, but nothing in Kakashi’s face mirrored his surprise. Instead there was a gentle smile on his lips and sincere warmth in his eyes. Minato tried to speak—to fabricate some excuse for his action—but Kakashi moved instead. 

A warm hand ghosted over Minato’s cheek and a second kiss happened somehow. Then a third occurred. After the fourth, Minato found his arms wrapped around Kakashi. After the fifth, his hand somehow crept into Kakashi’s wet hair. After that, Minato stopped counting. He opened his mouth and took everything Kakashi was willing to allow. Even when Kakashi pulled back—just a little—Minato didn’t release him. He trailed kisses along the pale, perfect skin of Kakashi’s jaw line, seeking the crook of his neck. 

“Minato,” Kakashi said, a little desperately. So Minato stopped and straightened his neck, but he didn’t force himself to pull away. Kakashi’s arms were loose but still wound around Minato in something like permission. They were still so close. Kakashi was still allowing them to be close. They could still be so much closer. Minato kissed Kakashi once more. If Kakashi was intending to pull away, he wanted just one more kiss. 

“Come to bed with me,” Kakashi said, gasping a little as he pulled back. Relieved that Kakashi wasn’t asking him to stop, Minato fell forward to kiss him again. After a few minutes of licking his way into Kakashi’s mouth while those long fingers twisted in his hair and slid under his shirt, Minato slowly realized that Kakashi’s words had been something more than permission to continue. 

“What?” 

It was Kakashi’s turn to run his lips over Minato’s neck. He pressed a kiss to the pulse point there before brushing them along the shell of Minato’s ear. “You like my mouth,” Kakashi murmured. Minato felt his whole body shudder against Kakashi’s heat. “I can make you like it even more.” 

Without waiting for an answer, Kakashi turned and strode gracefully toward his room. Minato stumbled stupidly, attempting to follow him. 

After—when Minato had been allowed to touch to his heart’s content and Kakashi’s promise had been kept—Minato’s brain started working again. Unfortunately, it had a lot of time to make up for. Minato couldn’t believe that he had allowed this to happen. He didn’t know what to do. Having never really expected to be in a circumstance like this one, he had never paid attention to the civilities when Jiraiya-sensei attempted to explain them. Probably he owed the man an apology. More importantly, he was going to owe Kakashi a much larger one. If he ever realized how deeply Minato’s affections were engaged, his anger would be even greater than the terrible upset he’d felt over Ambassador Yuki. Minato didn’t know if he could survive coldness like that again. Not from Kakashi—not after knowing this kind of heat from him. 

“Time for bed. You still need to sleep, Minato,” Kakashi suggested, yawning contentedly. He looked perfectly at ease, though he still hadn’t covered his left eye. Still, he couldn’t have been utilizing the Sharingan or he would be able to read Minato’s distress in his body language. Minato was grateful. 

“I should—ah—go now?” Minato suggested. He was fairly certain that the established etiquette for an encounter of this type was to retire to one’s own domicile afterward. While he had no experience in the matter himself, he felt very sure that he had heard Jiraiya-sensei complaining about women who spent the night on occasion. He didn’t know how that would translate when both parties already shared a house, but he thought it important to make the offer. 

Kakashi shrugged casually. Because this was a casual situation and Minato needed to remember that and act accordingly. “If you want.” He yawned again. “If you stay we can go again in the morning. You seem like the kind of guy who likes it in the morning.” 

Minato really, really was. Clearly, he was behaving casually enough if Kakashi was offering to do it again. Minato wondered if there was a casual way of asking exactly how many more times Kakashi would be interested in, and if there might be an option for every morning in the foreseeable future. Obviously there wasn’t, and that was precisely the sort of thing that would upset Kakashi. 

“Stay,” Kakashi ordered, pressing Minato back into the bed with a firm kiss. “I’ll go get your tea.” Minato made polite noises of protest while Kakashi slid out of bed and into his black pajama pants, but he didn’t really want to be the one to go. Once he got out of Kakashi’s bed, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back in, and there was morning sex on offer if he stayed. He wanted to stay. He shut his eyes for a few minutes while he waited. 

When he opened his eyes again the room was dark. Kakashi was sleeping peacefully next to him and a cold cup of tea was waiting on the nightstand. Minato didn’t want the cold; he wanted Kakashi’s warmth. The only point of contact they were actually sharing was his hand, which Kakashi was holding to his chest with both of his. Minato tried to pull a little closer, but Kakashi’s grip tightened almost painfully. Then it loosened entirely. Minato tried to move subtly nearer without disturbing him. 

Kakashi sighed and slung an arm over Minato, pillowing his head on Minato’s chest without even blinking his uncovered eye. Even though Kakashi never so much as twitched a muscle while sleeping on a mission, after a long, still moment, Minato decided that this must be the natural movement of sleep. Kakashi certainly gave no indications to the contrary and Minato was allowed to hold him and stroke his soft hair until he was able to join him in slumber once more. 

The second time Minato opened his eyes, he found he was looking into Kakashi’s. Even though a black cloth was tied over his left eye, hiding part of his face once more, Minato thought he looked unaccountably open. He smiled a little and said good morning. 

“So,” Kakashi began, pressing forward for a gentle, closed mouth kiss, “am I better than a dog?” 

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t drink your tea, but I don’t remember waking you up from any nightmares.” 

“Ah. Yes. That is, I slept very well, thank you.” 

“Good.” 

Minato didn’t know what to say, but he was very sure that talking about how warm and safe he felt pressed against Kakashi wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity of casual. He shifted his hips and sat up a little. “Did you? Ah. Sleep okay, that is?”

Kakashi laughed brightly. “Always so polite, Sensei.” 

Minato could feel the confused blush heat his cheeks. “Ah. I don’t—“ 

“Need to make polite noises when you are so obviously interested in other things. No, you don’t. Not with me.” Kakashi nodded to the evidence of Minato’s typical morning condition inadequately concealed in the folds of the blanket. “Believe me,” he said, his voice dropping to a confiding tone, “I understand.” 

“Ah. That isn’t—of course I care if you are well rested,” Minato argued half-heartedly as Kakashi shifted closer and put a hot hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m very well rested,” Kakashi assured him, kissing Minato gently. “Now, if you don’t mind, I believe I made you a promise.” 

Minato had no objections.


	39. Chapter 39

Minato would cherish the events of that morning for the rest of his life. They would warm him on cold days and comfort him during lonely nights. That didn’t mean he was unable to wish that the Hokage had allowed him to advise her instead when he saw that ROOT ANBU were taking up strategic points in the village and attacking innocent shinobi. 

“We need to get to Itachi,” Minato observed grimly, putting a monkey-masked ANBU down with a brutal strike to his neck. Fortunately, the Hatake Compound was close enough to the outer wall of the village for them to notice what was happening at the watchtower. Unfortunately, it was far from where they needed to be.

“We need to get to the Hokage,” Kakashi corrected. “If Danzo’s only intention was to kill Itachi, he would be trying for plausible deniability. This is a coup de tat.” 

The guards stationed in the tower thanked Minato and Kakashi profusely for their assistance and Minato ordered them to guard the unconscious ROOT members. Minato was grateful for the lack of casualties thus far, but he knew that the most dangerous ROOT shinobi had yet to come out of the shadows. Rather than attacking, Sai leapt forward and knelt on the ground in front of the former Hokage. 

“I surrender,” he said, offering Minato his brush and scroll. 

“You don’t need to surrender,” Minato said, not accepting the weapons. “I trust you. Do you know anything about Danzo’s plan?” 

Sai stood at Minato’s gesture, but he didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I surrender,” he repeated. 

“We don’t have time for this,” Kakashi said. 

“Naruto,” Sai began. He looked uncharacteristically frustrated—or maybe as though he was trying to mimic the way he had seen other people look when they were annoyed—and he didn’t finish the sentence. He tried again. “Naruto is my friend.” 

“Sai, let me see your tongue,” Minato ordered. The boy’s face relaxed. Minato thought he might be relieved, though his expression was as blank as always. He opened his mouth to display the black curse seal on the back of his tongue. “I thought so. We’ve spoken often and I’ve never noticed any restrictions on your speech. I’m guessing that it only prevents you from talking about Danzo and his plans. If Naruto were perfectly safe from him, then you would be able to tell me as much.”

Sai didn’t say anything. 

“I can remove it,” Minato said, “but these things can be complicated.” 

“Minato, even if we trust Sai, we have to assume that Danzo is orchestrating this to distract you from his main attack.” Kakashi couldn’t be suggesting that Minato leave Naruto to whatever danger he faced. It wasn’t possible, but he looked deeply unhappy and Minato couldn’t imagine what else he would be so conflicted about. “I have to—you’re faster without me anyway—and one of us should—“ 

“Go,” Minato ordered with a smile. Kakashi was right. They needed to think of their duty as well as their family. “Help the Hokage in any way you can. Naruto and I will meet up with you once I locate him.” 

“Be safe,” Kakashi said seriously. “And maybe reconsider not tattooing the kid with your teleportation marker.” 

Minato allowed himself a short laugh before turning his attention back to Sai. Removing a curse seal was always complicated, even if it wasn’t intended to kill the subject when an attempt was made. Minato analyzed the seal fully with chakra and revealing jutsu. Then he needed to sketch out a removal jutsu physically instead of simply performing it mentally as he could with most complicated sealing jutsu. Perhaps he could have operated more quickly, but he wasn’t willing to risk Sai’s life. He explained this to the boy as he set up the candles and silver ink bowl he would need to use to ease the binding off the boy. Sai was both patient and understanding. He held perfectly still while Minato wrote all over his face and upper torso. Finally, Minato extinguished the red candles, powerfully casting the seal away. 

Sai fell to his knees, but the ink was gone from his face. The mark was gone from his tongue.

“How do you feel?”

“There is not time for questions I can rarely answer under the best of circumstances,” Sai said. “Naruto and the friends that joined him in celebration are being held captive at the Nara Compound. If you challenge him directly during this coup, Danzo intends to have your son executed. We must go at once to rescue them.” 

Minato agreed completely. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any markers set up to teleport them, so running was their only option. They ran fast. 

Six ROOT ANBU were stationed around the outside of the compound. Minato dispatched four of them immediately while Sai bound the two at the front gate with a large twisting boa constrictor. The doors were shut with paper seals. It was an unfortunately powerful barrier; Minato couldn’t sense the situation inside through the binding. Without his chakra sense, there was no way to know how many enemies were within or what Naruto’s situation was. Minato would simply have to be fast enough to rescue him no matter what. After nodding to Sai to ensure that the boy was prepared, he ripped the seal from the door.

In the time it would take a hummingbird to beat its wings once, Minato was able to observe that Naruto was sitting on the floor with a number of his friends guarded by ten ROOT ANBU. Minato threw a kunai and teleported across the room to grab his son. Almost the moment he did so, less than a full second after he broke the door seal, the children on the floor sprang into action. As one unit, they attacked the ANBU who were holding them captive. 

“Dad!” Naruto squirmed in his arms. “Put me down! I can fight, too!” 

Minato put the boy down as he requested, but the ANBU were all defeated. Choji and Ino were tying heavy ropes around the five that Shikamaru was holding with his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu so that he could release it, but the other five had been rendered unconscious in the short, brutal rush of the melee fighters. 

“Just because I’m not a chunin,” Naruto grumbled.

“I managed to get mine in one punch,” Sakura said cheerfully. “And I’m not a chunin.” 

“Well Naruto, if you want an opportunity to fight there are still a number of ROOT ANBU acting against the Hokage around the village,” Minato promised. 

“I do!” Naruto said. “Shikamaru wouldn’t let me attack them, even though I’m sure I could have taken them all by myself. He said we couldn’t get out of here without them, and it was best to go along for the time being.” 

“You could not have,” Sai said. “You managed to outnumber and take them by surprise, but all ROOT ANBU are chunin level or above. They were under orders to keep you alive until there was confirmed contact with the Fourth Hokage, or they would have responded to your uprising with deadly force. In such a scenario, I doubt the outcome would have been this favorable.” 

“Cheer up, Sai,” Naruto said, slapping his back. “Dad says there’s more fighting ahead. We’ll both get a chance.” 

“What is ROOT?” Shikamaru asked, interrupting. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to explain,” Minato said. “They are an organization that I believe intends to assassinate the Hokage. Now that Naruto is safe, I must go to her.” 

“I’m coming with,” Naruto demanded, grabbing Minato’s arm forcefully. 

“Good,” Minato said. “I can probably use the help.” 

“We all are,” Neji said. 

“No, you aren’t. Neji, I want your team to help retake the village gates. ROOT can’t be allowed to hold the wall. Shikamaru, your team should head for the hospital. I don’t have any intelligence to suggest that ROOT has captured it, but it’s a vital location and it needs to be secured. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, I’d like the three of you to use your tracking abilities to look for the less strategic fights. ANBU don’t generally go after civilians, but there are bound to be mistakes. You need to find the overlooked, the injured, and the abused. Help them. Sai, am I missing anything?” 

“The main attack will be focused on the Hokage’s Mansion, since Itachi has not yet been moved to the jail.” 

“That’s where our team is going. Sai, Naruto, Sakura, you’re with me. Move out.” 

The children all leapt away like the well-trained shinobi they were. Unfortunately, Minato was once again left with no faster options than running. If he teleported the entire group, he risked depleting his chakra too much to be of use when they arrived. Still, having a little time to talk as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop was useful. 

“How did they capture you?” 

“They came in dressed as ANBU just before dawn,” Sakura said. “We aren’t in the habit of disobeying black ops shinobi who give us orders.” 

“You should have seen Shikamaru’s face,” Naruto said, deep empathy coloring his voice. “Both of his parents are out on missions right now. He thought they were bringing bad news, I guess.” 

“Instead, they ordered Naruto to leave with them.” 

“Which is when I remembered that the bad guys have a lot of ANBU working for them, like Sai.” 

“I am not a bad guy, Naruto.” 

“You know what I mean! Anyway, I refused to go, even though they said it was the Hokage’s orders.” 

“I think if they had continued playing it that way both Neji and Shikamaru would have tried to force him, but they gave up the charade. They sealed the doors from the outside. None of us had the skill necessary to break that sort of jutsu from the inside and we weren’t in any immediate danger.” 

“That’s when Shikamaru told us to sit tight,” Naruto concluded. “He said we shouldn’t move until they did, and they wouldn’t let us talk or anything, so it was really lame.” 

“In retrospect, it is lucky that your friend Ino sent me in search of party snacks, even though it was after midnight when she did so and all of the stores were closed.” 

“Wait,” Minato said, “why didn’t you come to me sooner?”

“I did not go for snacks. I reported to Lord Danzo. He found my timing suspicious and did not trust me to bring in Naruto. Instead I was detained.” 

“How did you escape?”

Sai shrugged. “I am not unskilled, and they were holding me as a precaution, not under certain suspicion.”

Minato realized that since his return to the land of the living, he had something in common with his son and wife that he might not have before his time within the Reaper. Their party entered the Hokage’s Mansion through the front door. Inside was an already raging battle scene. 

In the hallways of the mansion, ANBU were clashing with ANBU, fighting with the lighting fast taijutsu only black ops shinobi were capable of. Luckily, Minato felt safe assuming that anyone who attacked him was ROOT. He dispatched those that did and ignored those that didn’t. Together with Naruto’s team, he pressed on to the Hokage’s office. 

Kakashi was standing alone between the Hokage and Danzo. Seven ANBU lay dead around the room—there was no telling whose side they’d been on—and Itachi was trapped by a complicated barrier jutsu contained within iron chains that bound him to a chair. The Hokage herself was kneeling on the floor over Shizune who was breathing shallowly and the eviscerated body of Kakashi’s friend Tenzo. 

“Sakura,” she ordered immediately. “Heal Shizune. If I try to help her, I’ll lose him.” 

Cloth bandages fell away from Danzo’s head and arm. Beneath them he was not wounded, he was utterly grotesque. Over a dozen blinking, transplanted Sharingan stared out of his wrinkled skin. He had so many unnatural eyes that Minato knew even his movements could be read, not to mention the risks of genjutsu or the Mangekyo. Minato had only one option. He shattered Itachi’s chains with a Rasengan. 

Only a Sharingan could face the Sharingan in an equal fight.


	40. Chapter 40

“Sir Kakashi,” Itachi said, shaking the last of his chains to the wooden floor of the Hokage’s ruined office. “I have always respected you a great deal. While the other Uchiha believed you would be incapable of mastering a Sharingan you were not born with, as a member of ANBU, I knew that you were powerful long before you gained our particular advantage. Truly, only the Sharingan can stand against the Sharingan in battle and I know that if we fight together it will not matter how many of my family’s eyes he has control over.”

“But you want to fight him alone,” Kakashi surmised.

“Yes.” 

Kakashi nodded slowly. “I suppose you have that right.”

“Arrogance personified,” Danzo said, “to think you could defeat me alone. Still, I need to kill you sooner or later, Itachi. It might as well be now.” 

Naruto stepped forward. Maybe he wanted to object. Minato had practically promised the boy a fight, but he reached out and shook his head anyway. This was undeniably Itachi’s fight. 

“Then allow me the courtesy of choosing a battleground away from interference,” Itachi said, leaping though the ceiling to the roof. A few small bits of plaster fell to the floor, but the hole he left was an almost perfect circle.

Danzo did not choose to follow him through the existing hole. A reasonable strategic decision, choosing his own path prevented Itachi from setting a trap. Instead, he smashed through the ceiling himself, completely destabilizing the structure. Large chunks of wood and cement rained down, endangering the two patients on the floor. Trusting Shizune to Sakura, Minato grabbed Tenzo’s legs as Kakashi took his arms. Wordlessly, they moved in perfect tandem with Lady Tsunade, transporting him safely to the roof while she kept his heart beating. 

The smart thing to do would be to leave the area entirely—to bring the injured to the hospital—but they needed to stay. If Itachi couldn’t handle Danzo they needed to stop him on that roof. A coup d'etat was madness. There was no telling what the man would do to the village. Especially since he was a man who would apparently cannibalize others to increase his own power. 

“Why are you doing this?” Minato asked. He honestly couldn’t understand the spymaster’s line of reasoning. “Surely you can’t imagine the Fire Daimyo will accept any excuse for your coup. Even if you succeed, you will be punished even more severely than you would be for the Uchiha Massacre.” 

“But this is not a coup, Lord Hokage, and I am not here. This is a popular uprising. The rest of the village turned against you when you brought the murderous traitor Itachi into our midst without executing him immediately. You and the Lady Fifth were killed before I could intervene and handle the ringleaders of the uprising—the Copy Ninja and anyone else who stands too firmly against me. I will be a hero, and the Daimyo will appoint me as the next Hokage.” 

“You could never be a Hokage,” Itachi said. The black flames of Amaterasu shot from his eye. With his attention on Minato, Danzo didn’t have time to dodge. The all-consuming flames burned him alive, killing him. Then, as though Minato had blinked while watching or was trapped in a genjutsu, Danzo was standing there unharmed, and the flames were gone. 

Minato could tell from the chakra and the effect that it was some sort of Yin-Yang release, like the old stories of the Sage of Six Paths. To create an imagined reality with Yin chakra and make it true with the Yang was an incredibly powerful ability. Minato wished the technique were a genjutsu from Danzo’s grotesque Sharingan. If Danzo had that kind of power on his own, it was doubtful that Itachi could defeat him. 

“The Izanagi is a forbidden jutsu for a reason,” Itachi said placidly. “You only have eleven eyes to blind, Lord Danzo. I can kill you eleven times.” 

Clearly Itachi knew what Danzo had done and didn’t feel threatened by the ability. That was a good thing, but if Itachi was going to be throwing Amaterasu around, Minato had other concerns. 

“How is your patient, Lady Hokage?” he asked as solicitously as he could. 

“Still alive,” she grunted. “Barely.”

“Is it possible to move him to a safer location? Naruto and Sai could escort you to the hospital.” Minato watched as Itachi flipped around the roof gracefully dodging the Wind Style Shuriken Danzo spat from his withered lips. 

“Sorry, Minato. I know that Naruto is the closest thing Jiraiya will ever have to a grandson, but I’m too busy to baby sit at the moment.” Itachi used Minato’s favorite version of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu sending hundreds of shuriken along the path of one well thrown knife. The blow clearly struck true, but Danzo simply disappeared and reappeared a few steps away. A second eye on his arm closed. 

“Lady Hokage, I would never—“ 

“The only person who could move him safely right now is you, and I don’t think either of us care to leave Itachi and Kakashi alone here. Things could go badly too quickly, especially if Danzo has reinforcements waiting in the wings.” 

Danzo blocked Itachi’s next technique—an impressive-looking fireball—by growing a tree between them. Minato stared. No, the Hokage would not be leaving together. 

“So it was not only my family you cannibalized, but the First Hokage as well,” Itachi observed, shooting off another Amaterasu. 

“Orochimaru may be insane, but the results of his experiments are always interesting. You know that, of course. Why else would you leave your brother to be one of his subjects?” 

Itachi leapt into the air. “Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Shuriken Jutsu!” was his only response. The dozens of shuriken he sent spinning toward Danzo were lit ablaze by his fiery breath. They sliced the tree to pieces and burned those pieces to cinders. Danzo wasn’t fast enough to dodge them all, and he apparently thought being slightly injured by the flames was worth using his Izanagi technique again. Minato supposed that was understandable. He wouldn’t want to fight Itachi at anything less than full strength either. 

Dozens of crows swarmed Danzo, cawing and scratching at him. He dispelled them with a fierce Wind Style. Then he rushed at Itachi. It was the first time closing to a hand-to-hand distance was his choice. 

“I know this one, clone,” he said, stabbing through Itachi’s stomach with his sword cane. 

“Not as well as you think,” the clone said, exploding like the world’s deadliest water balloon. Minato used his redirection jutsu to keep the water away from the injured patients and noted that while Danzo looked well and dry, another Sharingan on his arm was closing. 

Danzo went on the attack then, slamming his hand to the ground and summoning a strange tapir like creature he called a Nightmare Eater. Through it’s long, snout-like nose the creature inhaled the few crows Itachi had remaining and tried to suck Itachi up as well. Itachi actually looked pressed while he was dodging both the creature’s attacks and more of Danzo’s Wind Style Bullets. However, Minato wasn’t concerned. Wind was his primary style as well, and he knew how ineffective it could be against a strong fire style. 

Itachi knew it as well. “Fire Style,” he said, leaping high into the air. “Phoenix Flower Jutsu.” Shooting dozens of fireballs at both Danzo and his summon, Itachi was able to quickly incapacitate them both. The Nightmare Eater dissipated in a puff of smoke, and Danzo was critically injured for a fifth time. 

The wooden pylons that came shooting toward Naruto were a surprise, but Minato caught them with a redirection jutsu in time. 

“Enough,” Itachi said grimly. “I knew there could be only one reason to marry the Uchiha and the Senju in that disgusting arm of yours. You want the Nine Tails.” 

He wouldn’t get it. It made sense, using the two traditional jutsu in Leaf Village that could control a tailed beast to go after the most powerful source of chakra available. Of course there was no way it would happen. Minato wouldn’t allow any harm come to his son. Danzo was looking a little desperate. 

“You can’t beat me and you know that five second chances won’t be enough for either of the Hokage, because you aren’t Hokage caliber.” As Itachi spoke red energy grew around him, swirling to form a giant in armor that surrounded him. “For the respect I once owed you, Lord Danzo, I will end this quickly. Susano’o!”

The Susano’o drew a sword from what appeared to be a sake jar and, after trading only a few quick blows with Danzo’s sword cane, cut the man’s right arm. Minato recognized a sealing blade when he saw one. The slice should have trapped Danzo in an eternal genjutsu, but another Sharingan closed on his arm instead. 

Danzo leapt back and shot a powerful Water Style at the Susano’o, but the powerful energy projection simply raised his shield. Danzo’s attack thundered against it with the force of a dozen waterfalls, but it didn’t seem to affect either the energy being or Itachi at all. Minato noticed that the armored Susano’o had a second right arm as it used that arm to draw a different sword and attacked Danzo with both blades. Even fewer exchanges were necessary this time before the new sword fatally pierced the insurrection leader. A seventh Sharingan shut. 

Danzo formed seals and pressed his left hand to the ground desperately. Dozens of trees sprang up between Danzo and the Susano’o as he retreated in a frenzied attempt to buy time. Itachi’s Susano’o sheathed one of his swords and raised his hand over his head. From that hand, the Susano’o created three magatama bound together by a circular thread of chakra. For a moment, it looked strangely like the iris of a Sharingan. Then he threw it. The Yasaka Magatama was made of the same energy as the Susano’o and it was spinning fast as it hurtled toward Danzo. It sliced through the trees before it as though they were air and Danzo wasn’t fast enough to dodge. For a Wind Style user, he wasn’t very fast at all. 

Without giving Danzo time to counter attack, Itachi fired off an Amaterasu through the opening created by his Susano’o’s Yasaka Magatama. Danzo couldn’t dodge it. 

Danzo tried desperately to play for time, summoning a hawk to throw itself at the Susano’o. By Itachi’s count, this was his last attempt. Minato hoped he might change his mind and surrender. Itachi didn’t give him the chance. The Susano’o sheathed its second sword. Between two hands it created a long string of magatama and sent them all spinning toward Danzo. He didn’t stand a chance. As the tenth eye on his arm closed, the arm itself erupted into a Wood Style. Clearly Danzo hadn’t been expecting it, as the tree threatened to engulf him completely. He ripped off the arm and leapt away from it. 

“That is the end,” Itachi said placidly, looking at Danzo who, despite his missing arm, appeared to be defiant. Itachi released his Susano’o, and the red energy dissipated as he strode gracefully toward Danzo. “Surrender now and the Hokage may not order me to take your life.” 

“I have one Sharingan left,” Danzo spat. It was true, the eyes on the arm lying in the dirt with a tree sprouting from it were all closed, but the one in place of his left eye was still spinning wildly. 

“You would close Shisui’s eye forever with the Izanagi?” Itachi looked strangely hurt. “It is worth so little to you?”

“No,” Danzo said, expending a lot of chakra on something Minato couldn’t see. “Kill the Hokage. Both of them.” It was an order, but it didn’t make any sense at all. Not until Itachi laughed. 

“That is how you waste Shisui’s eye?” He was laughing loudly—almost madly—and it seemed completely out of character for the usually serious man. “Once every ten years it can be used as the most persuasive tool a ninja could ever possess and you waste it here?” 

“I was going to use it on the Daimyo,” Danzo said slowly, clearly offended, “but it should work on you.” 

“Oh yes, it should,” Itachi laughed loudly. “I was actually worried about it. You might have convinced me to protect you, to kill myself, or to leave the village and never become involved in these affairs again. Don’t you remember my reports?” 

“Of course I do.”

“Ten years ago Shisui used his eye to try to convince my family not to shed innocent blood with their uprising. It didn’t work. Not a single Uchiha could be persuaded by the most powerful technique in existence to try to resolve the conflict peacefully. That was what finally convinced me that I needed to follow your order—that your way was the only way.” 

“It didn’t work because they were too closed minded, not because they were Uchiha. You made that very clear.” 

“Not closed minded—resolved. Even Shisui’s eye cannot persuade someone to do something completely contrary to his own nature. Peace with the Hokage was completely contrary to my family’s nature. You could have made me kill, Danzo, but you could never make me kill a duly appointed symbol of the Will of Fire. Everything I have ever done I have done for Leaf Village and my brother. Don’t you know me at all?” 

Danzo rushed forward, slashing wildly with his sword cane. Itachi caught it and flipped it around, stabbing the man through his stomach. Danzo clutched at the wound and his shirt ripped open revealing a Reverse Tetragram Sealing Jutsu. Minato darted forward and grabbed Itachi, teleporting him back to a safe distance as the symbols erupted into a black sphere that surrounded Danzo and sealed away everything close to him. It wasn’t surprising. Of course a man like Danzo would want a trap to destroy whatever managed to finally kill him. 

“It is over,” Itachi said, staring at the black hole where Danzo had been standing. “He didn’t close Shisui’s eye after all.” 

The young man collapsed against Minato. That was fine. Minato could support the weight.


	41. Chapter 41

Minato watched Naruto’s eyes drift shut for the fourth time as his head listed sideways toward the vacant plastic chair next to him. Then the boy jerked upright and opened his eyes wide. 

“Really, Naruto,” he said gently, “you should go home. Clearly you didn’t get any sleep at all last night.” 

“I want to make sure Itachi is all right,” Naruto said stubbornly, just has he had the last three times Minato had made the suggestion. Minato wondered at what point he would be within his rights as a father to pick the boy up and physically put him into a bed somewhere. 

“Itachi is fine,” Lady Tsunade said, tugging her coat straight as she entered the hospital waiting room. Kakashi and Minato both stood to greet her. Naruto just blinked sleepily up at the famed medical ninja. “Why are you still here, brat? Go home and go to bed like the rest of your team did hours ago. Your dad can fill you in.” 

Naruto set his jaw stubbornly. 

“You can stay,” Minato allowed hastily forestalling the inevitable argument. “We’ll have a quick briefing, then we’ll all go home.” 

Lady Tsunade shrugged. “Suit yourself, Dad.” She led the three of them to Itachi’s room. 

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” the young man said formally, hardly wincing at all as he sat up.” 

“It was no inconvenience,” Minato said. “You acquitted yourself very well against a powerful opponent. I’m sorry to have to trouble you so soon after you depleted your chakra, but we haven’t really had a chance to talk.” 

“You’re too kind.” 

“He is,” Lady Tsunade agreed. “I think you know that there is more keeping you in that hospital bed than chakra depletion.” 

“What’s wrong with him?” Naruto asked anxiously. Itachi bowed his head. 

“For one thing,” she said, “he’s going blind.” 

“Blind?” Kakashi asked. His voice was as bland as usual, but he was clearly surprised. Minato understood the feeling. For a notorious user of ocular jutsu, blindness would be a real problem. 

“It is the Mangekyo,” Itachi said equably. “Using it causes light to leave the eye. Using it often will leave an Uchiha completely in the dark.” 

Kakashi looked skeptical.

“There is a way to cure it.” Minato was very certain that this must be true. “You would not encourage your little brother down a path that would end in such a weakness.” 

“Indeed. It is the same reason that my upperclassman Kakashi there has never noticed his own eye darkening despite all the other ways that using the Mangekyo Sharingan costs him. Another’s eye—stolen or given—will not go dark with the jutsu. Madara told me as much, and I confirmed it in some of our clan’s oldest tomes.” 

“You were going to give Sasuke your eyes,” Naruto observed quietly.

“Once I made certain he could use the jutsu, yes.” 

“Unfortunately,” Lady Tsunade said sarcastically, “he isn’t just going blind.” 

“My illness.” 

“So, you did notice that you’ve been coughing up blood lately.” 

“Yes. I apologize for not mentioning it before you brought me to your hospital. I hope that it is not very contagious.” 

“It’s tuberculosis. Yes, it’s contagious, but it’s treatable and a hospital is exactly where you need to be for the first course of drugs. There’s no quick fix to this one. It’s what comes from sleeping in damp caves with the Akatsuki and not taking proper care of yourself.” 

“Thank you for your concern Lady Hokage, but—“

“Yes, yes, when Minato gets a lead on Orochimaru’s whereabouts you’ll be going with the team. I’m well aware that that was one of your conditions for surrender.” 

“We should talk about that,” Minato said. “Can he stand trial? I don’t like the idea of keeping him in some sort of arrested limbo without a proper sentence. It sets a poor legal precedent.” 

Kakashi’s eye sparkled with warmth that had been missing during those grey hours in the waiting room. “You are the only shinobi I know who worries about legal precedents at times like this, Minato.” 

“It’s a real concern,” he argued. “Especially since Danzo’s death. We need to clear everything up before too many people start speculating.” 

“I think people will get the right idea,” Lady Tsunade said casually. “After Danzo’s little coup, most of the speculation is probably right on the money.” 

Minato froze. He hadn’t wanted to bring this up in front of Naruto, but he couldn’t stop himself from speaking. “And how is it that Danzo came to know exactly how much of a threat Itachi would be to him, my lady?”

“I suspect a member of ROOT intercepted the letter I sent to the Daimyo detailing exactly how Danzo was guilty of the Uchiha Massacre and requesting that he preside over a high profile trial.” 

“You don’t think we could have taken him quietly, without the risk? Without my son being imprisoned against his will?” Kakashi’s hand clasped Minato’s shoulder firmly, but he didn’t need to be kept in check. A peaceful solution could have been found. 

“I think that Danzo’s organization needed to be pulled out by the roots.” 

“In spite of any deaths that might result?” 

“If your concern is for me,” Itachi said softly, “I told the Hokage I was willing to accept the risk of assassination.” 

“Just because you’re willing to die doesn’t mean we should let you,” Minato said. “And the risk was not yours alone.” 

“Seven died—all ROOT. Sixteen ROOT operatives—including Sai—surrendered to my forces rather than rebel against the village. Those that were captured will be jailed for insurrection rather than whatever conspiracy charges we might have attempted. If nothing else, you have to appreciate the solid legal footing we’re on there.” 

Minato didn’t laugh. “I suppose my son’s captivity was just a minor hiccup, then.” 

“Dad, I’m fine. That wasn’t a big deal, you know.” 

“It wasn’t a hiccup at all,” Lady Tsunade said. “You were dead on your feet and Kakashi didn’t look much better. I knew he would be a target, so I arranged alternate protection for him.” 

“Protection?” Naruto looked insulted. “I was fine!” 

“Please, do you really think Shikamaru decided to go to the trouble of throwing a party on his own? He was under orders, and you had ten of the most powerful young shinobi in the village with you all night. Was it that much of an inconvenience?” 

“It was a pretty fun party,” Naruto acknowledged slowly. “But I could have fought those ROOT guys if I’d had the chance.” 

“I’m sure you could have.” 

Minato bowed low. “I apologize for questioning your decision, Lady Hokage.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand cheerfully in front of her face. “It was a calculated risk and a tough call to make. I could very easily have been wrong.” 

“I used to be able to make choices like that.” Even understanding her logic he still felt cold thinking about it. If the reinforcements hadn’t been stationed properly things could have gone very badly. 

“You’ll get better,” she said warmly. “You are getting better. A few months ago you would have been shouting all of these questions and shoving innocent bystanders around while you did it.” 

Minato laughed a little. Naruto gave him a sideways hug and began babbling about how right she was. Kakashi just leaned against the wall and smirked. Itachi, on the other hand, began coughing terribly into a handkerchief. 

“Now,” Lady Tsunade said, cutting into Naruto’s exhausted chatter, “I know we all have questions for Itachi, but they will have to wait. He needs more rest. We’ll debrief about the Akatsuki first thing in the morning and set a trial date for later in the week. Precautions will need to be taken against disease transmission, but you’ll have your sterling legal precedent.” 

“Of course,” Minato agreed. “Rest well, Mr. Uchiha.” 

“Feel better, Itachi!” Naruto chirped. 

“Thank you,” he said, relaxing back onto his clean white sheets. His face was almost pale enough to match them. 

“Lady Tsunade,” Kakashi said, as they left the young man alone with his ANBU guards watching over him, “I do have one question that won’t wait.” 

“Yes?” 

“You said there were no deaths on our side. Does that mean Tenzo—?” 

“I don’t know why you call him that,” she scolded him mockingly. “If ANBU Cat were here, he would tell you that it isn’t even his real name. However, I’ll let him handle all of that himself.” 

Minato could feel Kakashi’s relief. It was interesting that they were apparently so close when Kakashi hadn’t mentioned the man at all since Minato’s return. He wondered if that was simply the nature of their friendship or if Tenzo—ANBU Cat—had been on some long assignment until recently. 

“Can I see him?” If he were anyone else, Kakashi might have sounded anxious instead of nonchalant. 

“Not yet. He’s still in ICU after his surgery. Maybe tomorrow. I do expect him to make a full recovery.” 

Even hidden behind a mask and a sloping forehead protector, Kakashi’s smile could light a room. 

Halfway home, Minato decided he couldn’t take it anymore and he forced the issue. Rather than let Naruto drag his feet for one single step more, Minato picked him up and settled him on his back. The boy protested, of course, that he was too old to be carried, but since Minato hadn’t exactly carried him when he was younger the argument didn’t hold much water. 

“Just rest a bit,” Minato said and Naruto finally gave in and let his head fall to his father’s shoulder. Minato had the chakra to teleport them—even bringing Kakashi along since he didn’t care to be separated so soon after an attack on the village—but he found that he selfishly enjoyed the walk. Carrying his sleeping son home by starlight was something that he should have done dozens of times as a parent, and it was something he’d never thought he’d be able to do. It was pleasant. 

Getting Naruto to brush his teeth and put on his pajamas was less pleasant. It actually reminded Minato of taking care of Kushina when she was very drunk. Naruto refused to do anything more than a cursory wash, and grumpily jerked on his sleepwear when his father insisted that he couldn’t just fall into bed fully clothed. Then he demanded his hat. Minato found the silly thing with its cartoon face and huge buckteeth half hidden behind the nightstand. Still, Naruto was adorable when he pulled it on. After that Minato was practically compelled to tuck the blankets in and brush his lips over the ridiculous thing’s nose. 

“Good night, Son.” 

“Love you, Dad.” 

Minato watched as the boy fell deeply asleep the moment he closed his eyes. He shut the door as softly as possible even though he felt like cheering. Perhaps there had been a few problems over the course of the day, but overall it had been an excellent one.

“So, what do you say, Minato? Wanna put me to bed next?”

“You seem perfectly capable of brushing your own teeth, Kakashi,” Minato said, not letting his good mood be derailed by the teasing for a moment. 

Kakashi huffed a startled laugh and stepped closer, putting his hand on Minato’s arm. “Minato,” he said, his eye sparkling with good humor, “do you want to put me to bed?” 

“What?” Minato was going to regain his subtlety. Lady Tsunade had promised as much only an hour before. Unfortunately, all of his surprise was evident in his voice and the question. Kakashi stepped back at once, putting his hands in his pockets. It was a wonder that Minato had ever managed to have an adult relationship with anyone. 

“Don’t worry about it. Sleep well, Sensei.” 

“Kakashi!” Minato floundered. At least Kakashi had stopped walking away, but Minato didn’t know how to continue. Casual wasn’t something he did well. Honest was much closer to his style. “I am surprised. You—ah—I thought you didn’t—repeat performances.” He hadn’t had time to be truly depressed about it during the fighting and worrying, but he also hadn’t imagined any situation that might lead to a second invitation. He hadn’t realized that there might be a middle ground between just once and every morning for the rest of their lives. 

“Not with strange women,” Kakashi agreed slowly. “They might get expectations, but we’re friends. We live together, we’re compatible, and we both like sex. I honestly can’t think of anything more convenient. Unless you have any objections?” 

Minato knew himself well enough to have a number of them. Convenient copulation was a far cry from the love he felt. Unlike a normal friendship, where he could simply ignore any inappropriate feelings, he wouldn’t know how to behave properly if some intimacies were allowed while others were forbidden. Inevitably he was going to become jealous of the other people Kakashi found convenient. Moreover, these were volatile emotions he was contemplating and his control was already abysmal. There was a risk that he could become violent and impulsive again—that Kakashi could become something that triggered his problems rather than one of the two people Minato was truly safe around—and it wasn’t even a small one. He knew all of that, but he couldn’t refuse what Kakashi was offering. 

Minato tugged Kakashi’s mask down gently so that he could kiss that soft, perfect mouth. “No,” he lied. “No objections.”


	42. Chapter 42

Itachi had both a plethora of information on the Akatsuki and far too little. His intelligence on the strengths and weaknesses of the various members was solid. The nominal leader Pain possessed the Rinnegan and used a disgusting jutsu called the Six Paths wherein he animated six dead bodies to do his bidding. He had a close female adviser named Konan who used paper jutsu. Kisame, Itachi’s partner, was exactly what he seemed—a shark. Sasori of the Red Sand was a puppet master who used living subjects; Minato remembered when Sand declared him a criminal. Deidera, his partner, was an explosives expert who shouldn’t be underestimated. On the other hand, Hidan was an immortal follower of Jashin who cared only for slaughter and was overconfident the way people who couldn’t be killed tended to be. His partner Kakuzu cared only for money and extended his life in a more natural way—by stealing the hearts of other shinobi so that he could use their elemental affinities. Zetsu, the final member of the organization—one for each tailed beast—was his own partner. He had a strange affinity for plants and could grow an unlimited number of clones, although they weren’t particularly strong. What Itachi didn’t really know was the organization’s goal. 

Unlike most of the members of the organization, Itachi knew that the masked Uchiha who killed Kushina was the real leader. He suspected that only Zetsu and Pain knew that the Uchiha he called Madara was the mastermind behind their endeavors. The others believed that he was Zetsu’s ridiculous henchman, a clumsy boy named Tobi. Whether he was actually Madara Uchiha or not, he knew that Itachi wasn’t loyal. He had demanded Itachi’s service in exchange for sparing Leaf Village in the short term. Slaughtering the rest of the clan together had been the proof that Itachi would honor his word. 

“Then you did not act alone,” Kakashi observed. 

“If you think the lives he took that night lessen the nature of my crime in any way, you are mistaken.” 

Kakashi looked tired. He’d left the house only a few seconds after Minato had opened his eyes that morning—without breakfast—to see his hospitalized friend. Minato hoped that his lack of sleep didn’t have anything to do with spending the night in Minato’s bed, but he hadn’t known how to ask and then it seemed too late. It was more likely that he was simply concerned for his friend. Kakashi had an unfortunate track record of losing them, after all. 

“What do you mean?” asked Naruto. In contrast, he was as perfectly alert and happy to be included as always. There was no sign of last night’s exhaustion in his compassionate face. “If you killed less people than people think you killed, that’s a good thing. We should totally talk about that at your trial and stuff!” 

“The blood of my parents is still on my hands alone, Naruto. Not to mention at least half of my clan. Once you reach that point, exact numbers do not matter.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yes,” Minato said. “He wouldn’t spare you in that way. There is nothing merciful about that madman.” 

“Your revival with the sealed half of the Nine Tails chakra was not the first time you encountered him?” Itachi asked. 

Minato remembered his first time encountering the masked Uchiha. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. It was too cold. He was freezing, trapped. Then Naruto was grabbing him awkwardly and hugging him too tightly. Minato was probably embarrassing his son, but he was ludicrously grateful for the boy’s quick thinking; he could breathe again. 

“Your Madara was the reason that half of the Nine Tails chakra was sealed in the first place,” Lady Tsunade explained. “He ripped the Nine Tails from Kushina when she was weakest—moments after Naruto’s birth—and used the Sharingan to make it attack the village. Not to say it wouldn’t have done that naturally if given free rein.” 

Itachi sucked a sharp breath that turned into a bloody cough. “Then the villagers were right to suspect us,” he said.

“What?” Naruto pulled away a little and Minato released him completely, attempting to regain a little of his own dignity. 

“The reason the Uchiha intended to rebel,” he explained. “My clan thought they were being suspected unjustly for the Fourth Hokage’s death. We didn’t know that Kushina was hosting the Fox. We thought it was a natural disaster, but others whispered that an Uchiha could have controlled the thing.”

“Those that whispered didn’t know,” Kakashi said. “I had to join ANBU to gain access to complete records of the attack and even then there was no evidence that the assassin had been anything but a skilled fighter. The Third Hokage eventually told me everything he knew, but there was never enough to go on—certainly nothing as telling as someone seeing a Sharingan.” 

Minato wasn’t sure why he felt surprised. 

“Revenge?” Lady Tsunade asked quietly. 

Kakashi shrugged. “I like to be prepared. I never found anything, though, which means no one else would have been able to tie it to the Uchiha either.” 

“Still,” Itachi said quietly, “One of us was responsible.” 

Lady Tsunade insisted they leave Itachi to rest again shortly after that. Naruto protested that they hadn’t made any plans to rescue Sasuke yet, but Itachi didn’t have a reliable way of finding Orochimaru either. Kakashi managed to forestall most of the complaining by promising to practice taijutsu with Naruto for at least an hour. Minato asked them to proceed without him, claiming a short errand and promising to meet them for lunch at home. 

The unmasked ANBU shinobi—Kakashi’s friend who was apparently not named Tenzo—struggled to sit up when Minato entered his hospital room. He was covered in bandages and looked horrible, but he was clearly awake. 

“Please, don’t trouble yourself. I know we were never properly introduced, but I’m also a friend of Kakashi’s. My name is Minato.” 

“Yes, Lord Fourth Hokage, I know who you are. I’m honored.” He remained sitting when he should be resting. Minato resolved not to stay long. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Well enough thank you. If there is anything I can do for you?” 

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean to intrude, I just brought you some fruit for your recovery.” Minato placed the wooden lunch box on the tray table. The injured man lifted the lid and stared at the contents. 

Perhaps Minato should have stopped after arranging the peeled slices of apples and pears into a chrysanthemum shape. The green grapes shaped into little trees with papaya trunks could be misconstrued as insulting the shinobi’s style. 

“I apologize for the presumption,” he said quickly. “Unfortunately, Kakashi does not speak of his friends often, so the only thing I know about you is that you possess the Wood Style.”

“No, Lord Hokage, I just—thank you very much for taking the time to prepare this for me. I would never have expected anything like this.” 

“Ah. You’re very welcome. Since you are a friend of Kakashi’s, I would like for us to be friends as well.” 

“Friends.” He looked a little lost. 

“I don’t intend to impose,” Minato added. “Perhaps cordiality would be a better place to begin.” 

“No, Lord Hokage, forgive me. I just—never really thought of Kakashi as a friend before.” 

“Didn’t he come to visit you this morning?” 

“Yes. Of course you’re right. We are friends. I wouldn’t have woken up this morning with him staring at me if we weren’t. I just didn’t notice because instead of bringing me fruit he spent half an hour telling me I needed to work on my sensory abilities more so that no one would get the drop on me in the future.”

“Ah. Well, Kakashi can be standoffish, but I can tell how important you are to him.” 

The man looked dazed and slightly uncomfortable. 

“Forgive my intrusion,” Minato said, turning to the door, “I’ll let you rest.” 

“Wait, please, Lord Fourth Hokage.”

“Yes?”

“Forgive me. I think have been unconscionably rude to you. I would very much like to be friends.”

“Good! And if this is your idea of rude, perhaps I’ll hold off on inviting you to dinner. My son’s table manners still leave a great deal to be desired. However, if we’re to be friends, I must insist on you calling me Minato.” 

“Thank you, Lord Minato. I’m honored.” 

Minato waited a long, awkward moment. “I still don’t know what to call you,” he said uncomfortably. “I can hardly address you by an ANBU call sign when you are not wearing a mask, and Lady Tsunade told me that you do not care for the name Tenzo.” 

The man blinked woodenly. “I don’t have a name,” he said slowly. “Orochimaru created me as an experiment with the First Hokage’s genetic material. Tenzo was a cover I used once on a mission that Kakashi picked up on, but it was never my name.” 

“Well you should pick one. It’s difficult to relate socially if people don’t have a form of address, Mr. Senju.” 

“S—Senju?” 

“If you have the genetic material, then I think you could technically qualify as a member of the clan.” 

“How about Yamato?” he suggested hastily. “Please don’t address me as a Senju—especially not where the Lady Hokage might hear.” 

Minato smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Yamato. I hope you’ll join my family for a meal when you feel well enough.” 

In the end, Minato wasn’t sure what conclusion to draw when he finally teleported home to get lunch started for his family. He was happy to have met Yamato and pleased to have formed the beginnings of a new friendship, but it didn’t seem like he would be able to learn what he’d initially hoped. Unfortunately Yamato’s relationship with Kakashi was nothing like Minato’s. It was doubtful that the ANBU captain would be a helpful guide for how Kakashi expected his sexual partners to behave in a casual setting. There was little doubt that they had a sexual relationship—Kakashi had admitted to having sex with nearly all of his friends except Asuma, who was uninterested, and Shizune, who left the village before he hit puberty—but Yamato seemed to understand his friend even less than Minato did. That was both reassuring and disappointing. 

“Dad! You made taiyaki for lunch!” Naruto grabbed one of the hot fish-shaped pancakes straight from the iron. Minato snatched it back. 

“Go wash up and set the table,” he ordered. Naruto grinned and bounced cheerfully into the bathroom. “How was training?” Minato asked Kakashi, who slouched against a wall, watching Minato fill a second cake with red bean paste. 

“He’s getting better. Doesn’t project his moves nearly as much anymore and we’ve finally trained him out of pulling that roundhouse.” 

“Good.” 

“What did Lady Tsunade say about Lord Jiraiya’s return?”

“I’m sorry?” 

“Isn’t that what you stayed behind?”

“No, actually. I had some fruit for your ANBU friend.” 

Kakashi’s eye widened betraying his surprise. “You went to see Tenzo?” 

“He decided that he prefers to be called Yamato, actually.” 

“Yamato?”

“You were right to insist that he needed a name. He can’t live as an ANBU alone, but he honestly doesn’t care for the name Tenzo, so I asked him to choose something else he’d like to be called.”

“Of course you did. You just show up and make things better. Of course you do.” The warmth in Kakashi’s voice was unmistakable. He glanced quickly toward the kitchen door then pressed his lips to Minato’s cheek through his facemask. “Thank you.” 

Minato felt the warmth color his cheeks where Kakashi hadn’t even really touched him. He hoped that his reaction would be attributed to the hot iron he was working over, and he tried to ignore it. “Yamato seems like a very polite shinobi. How did he end up with a friend like you?” 

“I get lucky sometimes.” Kakashi’s smile was soft, but so very happy.


	43. Chapter 43

In the end, Lady Tsunade’s assessment of Itachi’s medical condition carried far more weight than any other considerations at the trial. Homura and Koharu gave truthful evidence about the orders Itachi had been under with regard to his family—though they focused on Danzo’s role in events and deemphasized their own—so they could hardly rule against him. With Minato and Tsunade as the other sitting judges in the case the appearance of impropriety was a concern, so Lady Tsunade required that their decision be ratified by the village jonin who also heard the case. A two-thirds vote was necessary to uphold the sentence. The vote was unanimous. 

Itachi was sentenced to a hospital for two weeks to continue his tuberculosis treatment, then to the guardianship of Lady Tsunade’s loyal ANBU for six years. He would not be permitted to take missions as a shinobi, fight, or wield a weapon except in defense. If he still had his sight after six years and wanted to rejoin the ranks at that time, it would be considered. Minato made sure to define defense as being of his life, family, or village during the verdict. Obviously, he would be included in Sasuke’s rescue when they finally obtained proper intelligence. After a full hearing of the evidence, most of the jonin thought that Itachi’s own feelings were probably punishment enough. The truth of the matter was that he had been given an order by his superior that the Third Hokage allowed to stand, whatever his personal objections might have been, and most of the jonin present would have acted exactly as Itachi did. Even those who might not have done the same could understand how difficult the decision was. 

Only one shinobi in Leaf Village truly objected to Itachi’s sentence. That was, of course, the man himself. 

“Lady Tsunade has suggested that it is past time for you to leave the hospital,” Minato said, as cajolingly as he was able to. “I understand that your illness is not completely cured, but fresh air and sunshine will do you a world of good. Besides, I would think you’d be excited that your quarantine period has ended.” 

“I should be in jail.” 

“That wasn’t the decision of your court.” 

“I will not go walking in the sunshine with you. When word comes regarding Sasuke or you have a useful task for me, I will follow you. Until then, I will remain here.” 

“Ah, but I do have a useful task for you.” 

Itachi stared blankly at the former Hokage. “Nothing of that nature was mentioned as part of my parole.” 

Minato shrugged. “It is not an order. Think of it rather as a way of making amends.” 

Itachi followed him willingly out of the hospital room. 

The Uchiha compound showed signs of neglect far beyond the damage done in one horrible night that still hadn’t been repaired. While the house that Itachi had grown up in was fairly well maintained—it had been empty for less than a year as opposed to nine—everything else needed a great deal of work. 

“I thought you might want to get this place ready for when your brother comes home.” 

“Thank you for your consideration, but I refuse to inherit any of this.” 

“Does your brother deserve to inherit this as it is? Obviously it was too much for him to repair on his own even after the ANBU cleaned up the bodies, and I suspect that seeing it every day didn’t help him.” 

Itachi stared at Minato for a long, wordless moment. Then he walked over and lifted a fallen wooden beam that should have taken two to carry and brought it to a dumpster. Minato left him to it, nodding to Yamato—ANBU Cat—as he left the compound. 

When he came back the next day to check in, all of the detritus had been completely cleared away and Itachi was attempting to put a new shutter on a storefront window. The ANBU guards were forbidden to be distracted from their duties by helping, of course, and Itachi seemed to want to do this without jutsu, so he allowed Minato to hold up one end while they affixed it. 

On the third day he was allowed to stir mortar so it didn’t solidify while Itachi laid a new brick wall. Minato felt no hesitance about using jutsu, so he swirled it with chakra like the lazy first step of a Rasengan. It mixed more thoroughly that way, and he didn’t have to worry about cleaning a stick later. 

“I know you will do everything in your power to help Sasuke,” Itachi began slowly when nearly half the wall was in place. 

“I promised my son I would.”

“It may be that he cannot forgive my actions despite the explanation that you and the rest of the village were so eager to accept.” 

“Danzo’s evident treason went a long way to making the villain of the piece very clear.” 

“Yet I am the one who committed the act,” Itachi said. “I am the one Sasuke saw with his own eyes standing in our parents blood. It may be that he will kill me yet. It may be that I allow it.” 

“Do you really think you deserve to die for your actions?” 

“I always have.” 

Minato felt tears prick the corners of his eyes and swallowed them down. A shinobi had control over his emotions. Itachi would not respect or listen to an emotional response. “Your Hokage thinks otherwise.” 

“Yes. The Lord Third never knew of my eventual plan, or he would have disapproved as well. Somehow, that doesn’t matter as much to me as it should. The only judge whose ruling I can truly accept is my brother. If he cannot forgive me, then he must be allowed to punish me as he sees fit.” 

“I can understand that.” 

“Then you will see to it that he is not punished for doing so—or punished as lightly as I have been at the very least?” 

“If it comes to that: yes.” 

When Minato left at sunset, Itachi thanked him for all of his help. The next day he was allowed to pass tiles to Itachi as he repaired a roof. The day after he helped choose colors for the young shinobi to paint with. Most of Minato’s days were spent training with Naruto or advising Lady Tsunade in his diplomatic capacity, so he would have liked to be of use to Itachi when he could. He would have liked it even more if Itachi would agree to a dinner invitation, but the Uchiha insisted that his penance did not allow room for pleasantly sociable evenings. Instead, Minato sat and held rushes while Itachi threaded them into his loom to weave new tatami. 

A powerful gust of wind came unexpectedly and knocked over the bucket, stealing most of the rushes. Minato ran after them, grabbing as he could, but he knew he couldn’t get more than half. There were thousands of the thin stalks on the air, and the wind would blow them beyond the compound wall within seconds. Itachi summoned his flock of crows to help. More were recovered than were lost. 

“Most Uchiha summon cats,” Minato observed neutrally as they sorted through the rushes, picking out those too damaged to be salvageable. It was unfortunate that Itachi had chosen to work outside given the weather, but Minato suspected that he preferred bright sunlight for detailed work like weaving. Working indoors was probably not an option if his vision was as poor as Lady Tsunade reported. 

“Yes. Though I suspect Sasuke will summon snakes, studying with Orochimaru as he is.”

“Crows seem more useful.” 

“I went to a great deal of trouble to negotiate a contract, but I feel they suit me. Crows are carrion birds, scavengers, and mercenaries.”

“Now Itachi—“ 

“And yet, they are never alone.” 

Minato’s heart broke a little. “Crows must care a great deal about their flocks.” 

“It’s called a murder.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“A group of crows isn’t called a flock. It’s called a murder.” 

Minato couldn’t take it any more. “I’m afraid tonight I’ll have to make it an order.” 

“What?” 

“You’re coming home with me for dinner. If you refuse to accept an order from me as a ranking shinobi and adviser to the Hokage, then I shall be forced to ask the Hokage herself to order you to accompany me.” 

“I don’t—I’m not fit for company, Lord Fourth.” 

“It isn’t company, just Naruto and Kakashi. We’re really very relaxed. Though perhaps that is too intimate for you.” 

“I—“

Minato leapt to the top of the closest building where the ANBU captain of Itachi’s guard was concealed. At their level, both he and Itachi were well aware of the man, but such illusions were necessary. “According to the variations in your routine, you will be relieved of duty in twenty minutes.” 

The ANBU hesitated for a long moment then nodded once. Minato handed him a hastily scribbled note. “Please deliver this message for me.” The ANBU nodded a second time, bowed, and vanished in a swirl of leaves. 

“Now we will have a fifth for dinner,” Minato told Itachi happily. “You needn’t feel like you are intruding on a family meal.” The fifth would be Yamato—the ANBU Minato had just been conversing with. It would not do, however, to let someone under guard know the identity of his guardians. No matter how much Minato trusted him personally. 

Itachi was out of excuses. When the sun sank bloodily past the compound wall and he was forced to abandon his weaving, he accompanied Minato home. 

“You like him,” Kakashi observed later that night, after a congenial evening of listening to Naruto beg for stories about Sasuke’s childhood. Yamato had been very polite and friendly during dinner, but Minato hadn’t been talking about his reformation for over half an hour. 

“Naturally. He’s a very intelligent, engaging young man. A little depressed, perhaps, but I believe part of that comes from the fact that he is very lonely.” 

Kakashi stretched languorously, bathing the milky expanse of his soft skin in moonlight. Minato lost his train of thought. His bed was perhaps not the location for a serious conversation about Itachi’s character. 

“Is that why you go to see him every day? To keep him company?” 

“Yes.” 

Propping himself up on his elbows, Kakashi looked seriously at Minato. Minato tried to meet his eyes, but the position accentuated the musculature of his abdomen in such a way as to draw lines. Lines so clear they were practically arrows. It was extremely distracting. 

“I know it must be hard; he can’t be blamed for a hint of bitterness. Still, I know you wish he’d let you take on some of that hot, heavy work.”

Kakashi’s words were so innocent, but in Minato’s distracted mind they jumbled together and became something very different. He didn’t even know how to respond to the actual statement the words didn’t make sense to him and his tongue was so thick in his watering mouth. Then, abruptly, Minato understood perfectly. Kakashi was manipulating him.

“You might have just said you were not yet satiated and would like oral sex.”

Kakashi looked briefly surprised before he smirked. “Minato, stop talking about Itachi and suck my dick,” he said, putting a warm hand on the back of Minato’s neck and guiding him down. 

Really that was sufficient. Kakashi was an extremely persuasive man when he wanted to be. Minato probably wanted to do as he asked more than Kakashi wanted to have him do it at this point, but he felt he should say something anyway. Something about how they were adults and friends who should speak freely and manipulation wasn’t necessary. 

Unfortunately, when he opened his mouth all he said was, “Spread your legs, I prefer to settle between them.” 

“Yes, Sensei.” 

“And don’t call me—“

“Minato,” Kakashi said in a soft voice that made his entire body shiver. A pale thumb stroked his cheek firmly. Minato stopped worrying and let himself take what he wanted.


	44. Chapter 44

Jiraiya-sensei finally returned just as the swallowtail butterflies were emerging from their chrysalises. Minato had hoped that he would come with an exact location and set strike plan, but he came with information and that was enough. A meeting was convened in the Hokage’s office with Naruto, Itachi, and Kakashi at once. Lady Tsunade insisted that Sakura was better off studying with Shizune than worrying about preliminary reports and Sai had no direct interest in the case beyond concern for his friends. 

“So Sasuke travels with Orochimaru wherever they go?” Lady Tsunade said, double-checking the somewhat unfortunate information. 

“I could have told you that,” Itachi said. “The snake would never let his prey get too far out of sight. He isn’t toying with anyone. He’ll take my brother the moment he can.” 

“It’s unfortunate that Orochimaru’s movements are so difficult to predict,” observed Kakashi. 

“Oh ho!” Jiraiya-sensei objected. Clearly he had uncovered a clever way around that. “You think so? There’s a facility in the north of the Land of Iron running one of his horrible experiments. It’s bad enough that normally I would have attacked and shut it down, but they’d already killed all of the subjects so there’s no one left to save. It’s been going on for almost a year now, but Orochimaru will want to see the results the moment they’re ready. If I could infiltrate the facility without him knowing I was there, we could get the timetable of the experiment and know exactly when he will visit.” 

“So why didn’t you?” Itachi asked, his eyes narrowing. 

“My old friend Orochimaru knows me very well.”

“All warded against frogs and intruders,” Lady Tsunade surmised. “You never could match him when it came to anything that needed study.” 

“I can match him well enough in a fight! That’s what really matters!”

“Not in this case, it would seem,” Itachi murmured. 

“If it’s a barrier jutsu, there’s a way around it—no matter how complex,” Minato interrupted before things could get out of hand. “Did you take note of the permutations?” 

“Nope,” Jiraiya-sensei said cheerfully. “I figured it would be better if you looked for yourself when we’re there. I might miss something.” 

“And there isn’t a barrier Minato can’t get around,” Kakashi drawled. “It’s a good plan.” 

“This is great!” Naruto said. “Can Sakura come too? Or maybe it should just be us guys!” 

“Ah. Naruto.” Minato didn’t know quite how to continue. “Small teams are best for infiltrations.” 

“Right. I guess she’s more useful in a big fight, not really sneaking around, but she’d want to help us if it has something to do with Sasuke.” 

“I understand that completely, but sometimes shinobi can help best by trusting their teammates and waiting.” 

“Right.” Naruto didn’t look happy. “You don’t want me to come either.” 

“It isn’t the danger,” Minato said in what he hoped was a reassuring way. “Even if I didn’t respect your growth as a shinobi—which I do—I can’t imagine a safer place for you than to be accompanied by Jiraiya-sensei as well as me. I just believe that your infiltration techniques still need work before you’re prepared for a mission of this import.” 

“Fine. That’s fine.” 

“Now, now, Naruto. While those guys are off having fun without us, we can train a new jutsu.” 

“Really, Kakashi-sensei?”

“One even your father hasn’t mastered.” 

“What jutsu is that?” 

“If we talk about it now, he’ll only practice it on his mission so you can’t surpass him.” 

“Right! We’ll keep it a secret!” Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and smirked at his father. “Have a good mission, Dad.” 

Minato was glad that Naruto would be otherwise entertained, because the trip to the Land of Iron was a long one. Jiraiya-sensei was bad enough, insisting that they stop every night and sleep at an inn, traveling at the pace of a genin would have been terrible. Or perhaps it would have been more tolerable. Minato knew that part of his haste was anxiety over being separated from Naruto and Kakashi for the nearly two weeks the mission demanded. They had the chains to call for help in an emergency, but he couldn’t help his fruitless worrying. Pointless emotions aside, he also had cause for legitimate concern about their traveling pace. This was a fact-finding mission. Minato and Jiraiya were looking for the time when their team should come to the Land of Iron to confront Orochimaru. If that time was scheduled to approach before reinforcements could be sent for the situation could become very difficult very quickly. 

“Relax, boy-o,” Jiraiya-sensei said, knocking back another drink of sake as he enjoyed the hospitality of the inn he’d insisted on paying for. “You being serious and focused on your mission may not be anything new, but you need to take a break every now and then. I’ve been saying it since you graduated from the Academy. Let a little starch out of your shirt and do something that not everyone would agree is the paragon of moral virtue once in a while. I’m not saying you have to actually talk to a woman, but you might let yourself think about it. Naruto is safe; the village is safe; we can take a break for the night.” 

“Talk to a woman?”

“Sure! The Innkeeper’s daughter was giving you quite a look. If things go well, I could make myself scarce for a few hours! I know that when you were my student you were only ever interested in one woman, but you’re alive, Minato. You should enjoy it! And if you need a little advice from your old teacher, well—“ 

“Actually, I could use a little advice.” 

Jiraiya-sensei was practically glowing with pride and pleasure. After all, Minato had staunchly discouraged any and all discussions about women when he had been his master’s student. “It’s the simplest thing in the world. Just go out into the lobby and tell her she’s the most beautiful woman you’ve seen in all your travels. Women like passionate confessions, maybe you could—“ 

“Ah, forgive me, Sensei, not advice regarding the Innkeeper’s daughter.” 

Jiraiya-sensei was crestfallen. The light went out of his eyes and he set the bottle he’d been gesticulating wildly with back on the table. “Oh. I suppose you want advice about Naruto, then?” 

“Ah. No actually.” Minato could feel the bright red flush warming his cheeks. He hardly dared to attempt the topic, but he did need advice and as uncomfortable as it was, Jiraiya-sensei wouldn’t tease him or betray a confidence. “There is—in Leaf Village—I have, actually, had casual sex a few times recently. It was all with a single partner, however, and I was wondering what precisely the etiquette for such a situation was. I would like to avoid any difficult misunderstandings, you see.” 

Watching Jiraiya-sensei’s mouth fall open in utter astonishment wasn’t very encouraging, but the way he lit up enthusiastically said the old sage was back in his element. “Very important, that,” he agreed. “No one wants any feelings to be hurt in a situation like this. You need to lay down ground rules.” 

“Ground rules?”

“Oh, no need to be crass and discuss them that way,” Jiraiya-sensei said hastily. “Just make sure they’re clear. For instance, I’m sure you both understand already that the relationship is a casual one. That’s been made clear, right?” 

“Absolutely,” Minato agreed. It had been clear from the very first that Kakashi had no intention of entering into any complicated or emotional entanglements. 

“So call that rule one. Not to her,” Jiraiya-sensei added quickly. “Women are more spontaneous and free-spirited than men. They don’t always appreciate having restrictions spelled out the way a man would, but if you think of it that way you can correct her if she tries to change the rules.” 

“Ah. So, are there other rules, generally speaking?” 

“A big one for you should be to keep her away from Naruto.”

“Ah—that isn’t—I don’t believe that would be possible.” 

“Oh, it’s fine if she’s a friend of his already. That boy makes friends wherever he goes, but don’t let him know about your relationship. If he gets it into his head that you should marry her, or she starts feeling maternal, you can forget about casual and simple.” 

Minato thought about the way Kakashi always carefully checked for Naruto’s location before kissing him. “Ah. Yes. That rule has also been made clear.” 

The legendary shinobi grinned. “Good for you, boy-o! The same should go for any public displays, really. Keep that aspect of your friendship a secret so that no one starts pestering either of you about settling down. That will also help both of you keep your options open. After all, it isn’t an exclusive relationship and you don’t want to discourage anyone else from thinking you’re available.” 

“Right.”

“And do keep your options open. Make sure she does the same.”

“So another important rule would be to avoid expressions of jealousy or exclusivity.” 

“Right in one! If you get jealous—and there’s no reason you should—never show it. If she gets jealous cool things off for a while and see other people or something. Don’t let her monopolize you.” 

Minato thought back to the debacle with Ambassador Yuki at the Daimyo’s party and the subsequent fallout. He was positive that the problem in that case had been exactly as Kakashi said, but he would do his best to avoid a similar situation anyway. The last thing he wanted was for Kakashi to go cold again. 

“Most importantly, don’t do anything too romantic. No big dates. No candle-lit dinners. No making love in a field of wildflowers. Any of that stuff might make her forget rule one.” 

“That the relationship is a casual one.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. You’ve been very helpful.”

“That’s what I’m here for!” He smiled benevolently. “All I want is to pass my experience on to the next generation.” 

“And there is no chance—would another rule suggest that a casual relationship like this one never progresses or transforms into any other kind of relationship?” 

“Absolutely. If she ever suggests otherwise end things immediately. Casual relationships stay casual. That’s not to say you might not fall in love again one day, if you meet the right person, but you needn’t feel any obligations to her in such a case. Not if she’s already agreed to a casual affair.” 

“Ah. Good. That’s a relief.” And to a certain extent it was. Jiraiya-sensei had been of invaluable assistance in clarifying some pretty important questions about Minato’s relationship. There really was no reason to be unhappy about any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, Jiraiya is Jiraiya and his advice about ladies should never, under any circumstances, be taken seriously. If you are interested in ladies, this is really more of a How-To-Not-Be. 
> 
> It was kind of fun to write, though.


	45. Chapter 45

The best way to analyze an unknown barrier was to watch someone pass through it. Orochimaru’s facility was well hidden in a system of caves half buried in the snow that perpetually covered the Land of Iron. Jiraiya-sensei had taken stock of movement around the premises during his first visit and there were only two entrances. The one they established as the front entrance was used every few days by the head researcher or his two assistants going to the closest town for one thing or another. Jiraiya had only seen the designated back entrance in use once. It was apparently a more secretive one, or perhaps simply less accessible. For their purposes it didn’t matter. One entrance was easier to watch than two. 

Doctor Shin—Minato thought he hardly deserved the appellation given the horrific experiment he was in charge of—was a sickly, unpleasant looking man. His sallow skin hung too loosely on his boney frame giving him wrinkles that he wasn’t old enough to have earned. On top of that he had pale white hair slicked down to his shoulders. He looked like an invalid, not a medical researcher. 

Watching Shin leave the main entryway was extremely helpful for Minato’s analysis. He was able to determine that the barrier was not taken down and replaced every time someone needed to cross it. Moreover, it was clear that the barrier had been established by Orochimaru and not by anyone currently at the facility. They would probably not notice minor tampering with the jutsu, especially since it was a rare shinobi who could tamper with another’s jutsu without destroying it completely. Unfortunately, Minato needed to see Shin pass through the barrier one more time to fully analyze it. 

In case the researcher chose to return through the less frequently used entrance, Minato and Jiraiya-sensei followed him to the nearby village. He didn’t seem to have any particular errand. First he went to the grocer’s and stayed for almost an hour without buying anything. Then he wandered around a florist’s for nearly as long before purchasing the saddest bunch of daisies Minato had ever seen. Finally, he straightened with purpose, squared his shoulders, and headed to the local tavern with resolve. 

Tailing Shin to the tavern was easier than breathing. Jiraiya-sensei was already there, importuning the wait staff. Minato simply joined his old teacher and waited for Shin to arrive. The experience was a familiar one. For years Minato had sat in bars just like this one watching Jiraiya-sensei enjoy pointless flirtations with women. He entertained himself by watching the barkeeper—a plainer woman than the waitresses—and counting the water droplets on individual glasses before she wiped them away. Fortunately, they were not waiting long. Shin shuffled hesitantly into the tavern as though he was leaving all of his confidence at the door. Awkwardly he presented the flowers to the barkeeper. 

“Have you reconsidered my offer of marriage?” The smile Shin offered was as weak as tea brewed from a single leaf. 

The bartender didn’t look surprised or upset by such an abrupt proposal. She smiled kindly and ducked her head so that a curtain of brown hair veiled her eyes. “Thank you for the flowers, Doctor, but I have not. As I have said before, I cannot leave my father and I do not wish to stop working or leave the village. Have you reconsidered my offer of dinner?” 

“I have explained why that is impossible.”

“And I still don’t understand it.”

“My work will soon call for me to travel. If you were only to agree to come and live with me you would be spared that pain. As my wife, your father might join us.”

“My father won’t leave this village—he was born here and he will die here—but I don’t see why you and I shouldn’t be friends even if we can’t be more.” 

Doctor Shin sighed deeply. Minato had a very bad feeling that it wasn’t traveling away from the village that was going to cause the unethical man distress. “Unfortunately that would be inconvenient. I have no desire to feel pain at our inevitable parting. Good day.” 

With no further effort at civility, the scientist turned and left the tavern as awkwardly as he had entered it. Minato waited a full minute before following him. He wasn’t worried about losing track of the dawdling researcher. 

Fortunately, Shin meandered much less on his return to the underground lab. He entered through the tunnel Jiraiya-sensei had labeled the front door, which was fortunate because that was the location Minato had chosen to seed more of his analytical tools. Reviewing the full inspection he almost couldn’t believe how simple the barrier would be to bypass. Essentially the jutsu contained a list of chakra signatures that were permitted to pass into the laboratory. All Minato needed to do was add Jiraiya-sensei and himself to the list without significantly affecting the barrier itself. Minato acknowledged that it was not something most shinobi could do—even jonin who specialized in traps and barriers might have a difficult time attempting it with a barrier set by another—since it required a great deal of theoretical understanding, but it was the work of an hour for Minato to accomplish. He was done well before Jiraiya-sensei joined him after taking leave of the tavern waitresses. 

“So, boy-o, did you learn what you needed?”

“I did indeed. Both of us should be able to come and go without worrying about the barrier at all. That said, perhaps I should enter alone. There might still be a trap inside, and we are a long way from any other backup.” 

“Plus I wouldn’t put it past the companion of my youth to set something special up just for me even beyond a barrier guaranteed to keep me out.”

Minato left one of his marker kunai with Jiraiya-sensei so that he could escape quickly if nothing prevented it and cautiously entered the dark cave. The scientist and his assistants were clearly not on guard against an infiltration. Minato heard could hear them talking and moving around so it was easy to avoid occupied areas of the cave system. What he found in the unoccupied areas was more than enough to horrify him. 

Jiraiya-sensei had been politic in describing the experiment Orochimaru was conducting at the facility. A less complicated, less complete, quicker version of the resurrection jutsu, he’d called it. In reality, the test subjects were horrifying. Dead bodies were reanimated and transmuted into half recognizable beasts. Their faces appeared human, but they were completely hairless with yellow, reptilian skin. Hands were given disgusting claws and bodies were twisted into a shuffling hunch. While the creatures were much slower than even an ordinary person, they seemed unconscionably aggressive. As Minato passed through their holding area they threw themselves at the bars of their cages trying to claw him. They were aggressive, but not at all intelligent. The beasts didn't understand the futility of attacking iron bars even though they were clearly injuring themselves by doing so. Minato's stomach turned as he watched one of the undead monsters beat its own arm of against the bars. Notably, when it fell to the floor there was almost no blood. While he felt no fear for his personal safety, Minato left the room as quickly as he was able.   
Minato was extremely relieved to come across a large well-lit room full of desks and filing cabinets. In other words, all the hallmarks of an administrative office and exactly what he was looking for. Like all those who used science as a justification for their gruesome, destructive impulses, Orochimaru's henchmen kept detailed records. From those, Minato was able to piece together the general idea behind the terrible experiments.   
The technique was like the resurrections Orochimaru had used previously, but it was significantly different as well. Only the bodies of the dead were revived, nothing of their personality or the skills they’d had in life returned to them. Intended to provide quick shock troops at will from a local graveyard the technique didn’t actually serve to further Orochimaru’s interest in immortality so much as his aesthetic. It was a transmutation that caused created monsters to look like the dead; it didn’t bring them back to life. 

More importantly, Minato was able to find a timetable among the other files. A final demonstration of the technique was scheduled for two months hence. Orochimaru would be there to witness Shin and his assistants demonstrate it in the village graveyard. If the monsters were able to massacre everyone in the village it would be considered a success. Doctor Shin already believed that would be the case even without further work, but he was focusing on strengthening the beasts more to impress his master. 

Having what he needed, Minato left everything exactly as he’d found it and crept carefully back to the entrance of the cave. There was no need to trigger any alarms by using unnecessary jutsu in haste. He cautiously removed his alterations to the barrier before joining Jiraiya-sensei at their agreed meeting place. Not every successful mission was a joy to complete. Together, they turned and headed for home. 

“Sometimes I think you’re lucky to be spared the pain Naruto and I have of a friend turned against all that is good, then I remember it’s because all of your childhood friends are dead,” Jiraiya-sensei said, as melancholically as Minato had ever heard the jovial man be. 

“War will do that,” Minato agreed slowly. “What happened with Orochimaru-sensei? How did he become someone who plans to slaughter an innocent village just to test a tactic?” 

“War. What else? We saw so much death—we caused so much death—that life ceased to hold any meaning for him. Or maybe it became the only thing that mattered. He’s so terrified of dying.” 

“It seems to me that his servant is terrified of living. If he truly cared at all for that village woman, Shin wouldn’t be planning to massacre her friends and neighbors.” 

“Yes, well, it isn’t good to disappoint my old friend either.” 

“Still, I can’t believe he proposed marriage knowing she’ll be killed in two months if she doesn’t agree.” 

“I suppose he looks at it as a way to save her.”

“Honestly, though, you don’t think he really loves her. He couldn’t refuse to spend time with her if he did. He certainly couldn’t plan her death.” 

Jiraiya-sensei stopped walking and stared at Minato. “It’s you!” he accused. 

“What is?” 

“You are! You’re not having casual sex with anyone! You’re in love with some woman who is taking advantage of you!” 

Minato felt his cheeks heating up. “No one is taking advantage of me, and please keep your voice down if we’re going to be discussing my love life.” 

“We’re alone on this road. There’s no one for miles and I don’t hear a denial.”

“I just told you no one is taking advantage of me.” 

“But you admit you’re in love! Of course you are. You didn’t look once at any of the women in the village—“ 

“We were on a mission. You were doing an admirable job of maintaining our cover on your own.”

“Because you never look at women—never really look anyway—because for you sex is always a beautiful expression of absolute devotion.” Jiraiya-sensei couldn’t have made his words sound more like an accusation if he’d been talking about Minato as a negligent father. Minato tried to determine what was really upsetting him. 

“I’m sorry if you feel I misled you. Your advice really was very helpful. It isn’t as though I can ask my partner what the guidelines for a casual relationship are, not after I already agreed to have one.” 

“But I gave you the absolute wrong advice! You should romance her if you’re in love! Convince her that you belong together!”

“You indicated that doing so would cause my partner to end our association.”

“That’s what a man might do, women like that sort of thing. Anyway, if she ends things, she doesn’t deserve you.”

“Nevertheless, I find our relationship pleasant and wish for it to continue.” 

“She’d be lucky to marry you and if she doesn’t know that, she should.” 

Minato was mortified. “I can trust your discretion in this matter, can’t I?”

Jiraiya –sensei took a long moment before answering, but when he did he smiled sadly. “I suppose you’re an adult, and a better shinobi than me. You’re entitled to your own mistakes. I’ve certainly let other people I care about make far bigger ones than this.” 

Since that was the best Minato was likely to get he let it go even though it meant allowing Jiraiya-sensei to dwell once more on Orochimaru. They walked in silence for a little while before Minato turned the conversation to Naruto as subtly as he could. Talking about Naruto could cheer anyone up.


	46. Chapter 46

Minato hadn't been expecting Naruto and Kakashi to sit idle while he was gone on a three-week mission with Jiraiya-sensei. In fact, he had been looking forward to seeing the jutsu Kakashi had promised to teach his son. He was, however, unpleasantly surprised to return to Leaf Village only to learn that Team Kakashi was in Wind Country.   
"Everyone is fine," Lady Tsunade reassured him at once. "I just received a mission report from Sai. They were able to rescue the newly appointed Kazekage from the Akatsuki and only one Sand Shinobi was mortally injured. They’ve returned to Sand Village and everyone is safe, although the Akatsuki did manage to extract Gaara's tailed beast."  
"How is he alive then? The extraction of Shukaku should have completely drained his own chakra and killed him."  
"The Sand Shinobi who gave her life was that old puppeteer Chiyo. She had a resurrection jutsu that could truly revive the dead. Of course it was at the cost of the caster's life, but the old crone saved him in the end. It’s impressive—I can’t do it—and Gaara was saved.”

“With the help of the team that you sent after you learned the Akatsuki had taken him.” 

“Yes. I sent your son after the very people who want to capture him. He wasn’t going to stay behind knowing his friend was in trouble. It turns out they were the right choice—we’ve now effectively decreased the active Akatsuki members by three. Itachi is sure that the Uchiha he calls Madara will be forced to step into a more active role. While that can’t be much of a reassurance since he was effectively responsible for your death, it is always good to rob enemy shinobi of the shadows. All in all, this was a victory for our side, though we will be cautious.”

Minato took a deep breath. Then he took another. “You’re right of course. I would have preferred to be involved, but circumstances being what they were there is no way you could have kept Naruto away. At least he was with Kakashi and Guy.” 

“From what I hear Sakura and Sai did plenty to help, not to mention Lee, Neji, and Tenten. These young shinobi are a good group. They can hold their own if we trust in them.” 

“I’m glad. I just wish—well, every shinobi must wish he lived in a more peaceful time.” 

Lady Tsunade smiled softly. “No, Minato, I don’t think they do. That’s why we like you so much.” 

So it turned out that Minato was the one waiting at home for Kakashi and Naruto to return. That was fine. Gaara’s appointment to the role of Kazekage had quite an effect on inter-village politics. Not to mention his rescue by shinobi from Leaf Village. Minato had a lot of letters to write and feathers to soothe diplomatically. None of the Five Great Villages liked it when alliances became too strong. Small villages were terrified of the prospect. Everyone was afraid of war. Minato’s job was to reassure them that Leaf Village loved peace and remind them that Sand Village had been partially responsible for the death of the Third Hokage less than two years previously. His correspondents were always skeptical of the first premise, but the second reassured them somewhat. It was a time consuming and delicate task, but he could acknowledge that he was better suited to the task than Lady Tsunade. He was even grateful for the work that kept him occupied rather than worrying. However, he still missed his family. Perhaps that was why he checked on Itachi’s progress at the Uchiha Compound so frequently. 

Itachi seemed to have settled somewhat now that his information about the Akatsuki had been put to good use and two of his former companions—Sasori and Deidera—were dead. He even allowed Minato to help him plant a garden in the center of the compound. 

“It is late in the season to start a garden,” Minato observed.

“Yes,” Itachi agreed. “That is why I have chosen living plants over seeds. If they survive, they should all bloom again next year.” 

“And, of course, the fruit trees.” 

“You think they are too practical for a memorial garden?”

“I think that I would have much preferred a persimmon tree to a great stone face. Children will play here one day, steal the fruit, and laugh. That is what shinobi die to protect. There is no more fitting memorial.” 

“The trees may not bear fruit. Blood has been spilled here.” 

“It might take time—it might take years—but if they are cared for properly, all trees bear fruit.” 

“Will you help Sasuke with them? If he returns but I do not?”

“Yes. But I think they will bloom best for you. After all, you are the one who planted them.” 

Unlike repairing a roof or painting a house, growing a garden was not something a skilled shinobi could be done with in a day. The garden required a great deal of attention every day. It was good to go there after a long morning of diplomacy and relax with a little hard work. Itachi was an excellent companion. He understood the value of sharing time without necessarily sharing conversation. It was comfortable. Minato enjoyed seeing Kakashi’s friend Yamato during these visits as well, though of course he couldn’t say hello to the man while he was masked and on duty. Really, he probably shouldn’t have introduced him to Itachi off duty, in case Itachi’s skill level approached Minato’s own. 

An experienced shinobi could always recognize other ninja by the feel of their chakra, even if they weren’t specifically sensory type. All Minato could hope was that either the Uchiha wasn’t as perceptive as he might be or Minato was right about his nature. Frankly, he was banking on the latter. 

It was this perceptive sense that told him Naruto and Kakashi were back, well before any alerts came in from the watchtowers along the village walls. Minato didn’t waste any time. He flashed to their location immediately, with no consideration for the other shinobi also using the Hokage’s library. They were nearly a mile outside the village, so it was somewhat draining without a marker, but worth every bit of chakra to see their faces as soon as possible. 

“Dad!” Naruto rushed to hug him. “How did the mission go? Did you find out about Orochimaru?” 

Minato kept his hands on Naruto’s shoulders when the boy pulled back, subtly checking him over. “Well. Very well. We can brief in the village. I hear you had quite a bit of excitement.” 

“Not a scratch,” Kakashi said with a soft smile, letting Minato know that he wasn’t being as subtle as he thought. “I promise.” 

Minato released his son. “Everyone else is uninjured as well, I hope?” 

“Yes sir, Lord Fourth Hokage,” Sakura reported. “No one but me received any serious or life threatening wounds, and I was able to treat my own poisoning right away. Cuts, bruises, and chakra depletion was the worst of it. That’s why we stayed in Sand so long—to let everyone rest up—but we’re all fighting fit now.” 

“Good, good,” Minato said, wishing he could have been asking as nothing more than a friend and concerned parent while simultaneously grateful that his position demanded a complete and accurate response. The more facts he had the less he needed to worry. While the chakra depletion was almost certainly Kakashi, the capable jonin had clearly recovered. For the first time since he returned from his mission, Minato was reassured that everyone was fine. 

“Well come on, Lord Fourth Hokage,” Kakashi suggested. “Walk us home.” 

Minato smiled, draped an arm across his son’s shoulders, and did as his former student suggested.


	47. Chapter 47

Deciding on a course of action didn’t take very long once they all sat down for a briefing. Obviously, there was only one thing to be done and fortunately everyone agreed on what it was. Team Kakashi would return to the facility with Minato and Jiraiya-sensei. Itachi would accompany them. When Orochimaru and Sasuke arrived they would capture Sasuke or persuade him to come with them. As a secondary priority, they would deal with Orochimaru as they could while protecting the civilians. It was simple enough plan. 

“We might want more backup, though,” Kakashi said sensibly. “Perhaps an ANBU support team who know how to stay hidden. Even if Orochimaru and Sasuke are traveling alone, which isn’t guaranteed, that facility can produce an army.” 

“They’re slow,” Minato said, feeling unreasonably resistant to the idea of ANBU accompanying them on the mission. “I could handle any number of the creatures by myself easily. Itachi should be the one to speak with Sasuke, and I have every confidence that you and Jiraiya-sensei together can handle Orochimaru. That leaves Naruto, Sakura, and Sai for Doctor Shin, his assistants, and Kabuto. Even if Orochimaru is traveling with more of an entourage than Kabuto alone, I have faith in our ability to adapt.” 

“Besides,” Jiraiya-sensei added, “we were suspicious enough doing recon for this mission. No one in that little village recognized us as shinobi, but they don’t get many strangers in that part of the world. It’s impossible to pass through the Land of Iron without leaving a few tracks in the snow.”

“Yes,” Lady Tsunade agreed. “Keep the party small and time things so that you arrive no more than a day before they do. I hate to underestimate Orochimaru, but capturing or killing him isn’t a priority. This is a second Sasuke Retrieval Operation, nothing more or less than that. It’s more important to not spook our target than to bring overwhelming force to bear.”

“What are you worrying about, Kakashi-sensei!” Minato found that he was pleased Naruto had waited so long to interrupt the briefing. “Dad _is_ overwhelming force. You’ve seen him fight; he was Hokage! Plus, the Pervy Sage is coming along. We can take Orochimaru’s stupid henchmen!” 

Minato tended to appreciate Kakashi’s caution more than the gung-ho attitude his son displayed, but having been the one to decline backup in the first place he could hardly say as much now. Luckily Sakura slammed an elbow into the top of Naruto’s head and handled it for him. 

“Idiot! You’re the last person who should be speaking in a strategy meeting!” She smiled at the older shinobi, all sweetness and light. “Sorry, Master. Sensei. Please forgive the interruption.”

Minato could tell that he wasn’t the only one hiding a smile at the children’s antics. “Actually,” Lady Tsunade said, “I believe that we’re in agreement. Unless you still feel strongly that more backup is needed, Kakashi?”

“No.” Kakashi smiled strangely. “I suppose you’re right. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“If it comforts you,” Itachi told him in a soft aside, “I view this whole mission as having far more backup than required already. I believe I could kill Orochimaru and retrieve Sasuke alone.” 

“As long as we aren’t being overconfident, then,” Kakashi agreed.

“Perhaps we are underestimating the man,” Minato admitted, “But I am far more concerned about the Akatsuki than I am about Orochimaru.” 

“We must concentrate on one mission at a time, but I don’t think you’re wrong,” Lady Tsunade said slowly. “Orochimaru was merely one of their number for a time, after all.”

“Indeed,” Itachi agreed. “My information may now be worth far less to you than it was initially. Clearly, they have advanced their timetable considerably since I left their ranks. Most likely, they will also be replenishing those ranks with shinobi I do not know.” 

“That is a problem,” Jiraiya-sensei agreed, “but not an insurmountable one. Not since you told us what that fellow claiming to be Madara’s true goal is.” 

“Plus, those guys were a pushover!” Naruto added excitably. “I used my new Tailed Beast Mode and Kakashi-sensei just sucked that one guy’s whole explosion into space to save us. We were way better than them, you know!” 

Sakura punched Naruto into a wall. “And Granny Chiyo gave her life to defeat her beloved grandson, you moron! I told you not to interrupt.” 

“Sorry,” Naruto groaned, wiping flakes of plaster from his face. 

“You are correct, of course, Lady Tsunade,” Minato offered humbly. “That is a problem for another time. We must focus on our mission to retrieve Sasuke first and foremost.” 

“For what it’s worth, the information Itachi gave us about the minor operations of the Akatsuki seems to be very good. We were able to get some of our best infiltration specialists in place to observe the members whose habits make that possible.” Lady Tsunade offered a grim smile. “It isn’t much. They are just as powerful as they claim to be, but we can follow their movements. I like our chances a lot more than if we’d waited another year before going after them.” 

“We weren’t planning to wait to go after them,” Jiraiya-sensei objected moodily. “I was just going to train Naruto elsewhere. They were the ones who were waiting to come after us.” 

Lady Tsunade snorted. “Please. We had no way of finding a cabal of S Rank ninja who didn’t want to be found. Until they came after us we could hardly go after them. It’s different now, with Itachi’s intelligence.” 

Minato happened to agree with the Fifth Hokage, but he wasn’t surprised when Kakashi confessed later in private that he didn’t. Of course, Kakashi being Kakashi, he didn’t come right out and phrase it that way. Instead he waited until after they had eaten dinner as a family with Naruto regaling them both with exaggerated tales of his mastery of the Tailed Beast Mode. Minato couldn’t suppress a feeling of pride at the stories, exaggerated or not. His son was able to use the Nine Tails chakra without harming himself. That was more than most jinchuriki ever achieved. After dinner and a few games of tag Naruto went to bed. Then Minato was able to welcome Kakashi home the way he wanted to. It wasn’t until Kakashi was curled against Minato’s chest as they sprawled comfortably across the middle of his bed that Itachi’s name even came up. 

“You know, a few ANBU could help us keep an eye on Itachi. In case he decides that returning to Leaf Village isn’t the best thing for Sasuke after all.”

“You still don’t trust him?”

“He tortured me.” There was no emotion in Kakashi’s voice or tension in his body. He was simply stating a fact. “He and I are never going to be best friends. More importantly, he’s shown that there is no line he won’t cross if he believes in what he is doing. If he decided that it was right to stab you in the back he would and we have put a lot of faith in his information. I’m not saying I’ve seen any indication that he isn’t exactly what he’s said, but one of us needs to stay cautious. Given my past with him, it makes sense that I take on the role.” 

“That is probably wise,” Minato agreed, lazily tracing a slow spiral along the soft, scarred skin of Kakashi’s back. “But I believe him. I believe in him. I can’t explain it.” 

“You don’t have to. It’s your faith in him that’s won the help he’s given us so far. Like father like son.” 

“I hope you’re referring to me and Naruto and not Itachi’s unfortunate family.”

Kakashi sighed. “I hope I am, too.” 

In response to Kakashi’s suspicions, Minato went to the Uchiha compound immediately after making breakfast for Naruto the next morning. He didn’t want to let Kakashi’s accusations lie and Jiraiya-sensei wanted to train a little with Naruto during the day. Itachi noticed the change in routine, of course.

“You’re here earlier than usual today,” he observed. 

“We’ll be leaving in a day or two to go get Sasuke. I thought you might have things that you particularly wanted to be ready for his homecoming.” 

Itachi tilted his head slightly to one side, obviously aware that Minato had other reasons for coming, but he said nothing on the subject. “Thank you, Lord Fourth. There is indeed a great deal of work needed in the garden today. The irrigation fountain needs to be completed and all of the trees need to be watered well. Especially the cherry trees, I do not think they have taken root the way they should. However, I would like to begin carving the memorial stone. I do not want to use jutsu and cheapen the effort, but it will take some time. Perhaps you would be kind enough—?” 

“Naturally.”

Generally Minato didn’t hesitate to use justu when helping Itachi. The young Uchiha never objected. He may have been doing physical labor to punish himself, but when he accepted help he wasn’t picky about the form. In this instance, however, Minato was in the mood for a little hard labor. He finished the fountain, dug ditches, and carried the water by bucket to the trees. It was good to feel his muscles work in the warm sun. He felt a deep camaraderie with the quiet man who sat carefully carving the names of the dead into hard stone using only a simple iron chisel. From the quiet smile Itachi offered now and again as they worked, Minato could tell it was shared. 

When the bright sun cooked the morning into a hot afternoon Minato was surprised to sense Kakashi’s approach. He allowed himself to hope that his friend was here to give Itachi a real chance and socialize, but he didn’t really believe it. They had already shared a table after all, and that hadn’t seemed to endear Itachi to Kakashi. However, he was even more surprised when Kakashi stopped in the forest well outside of Uchiha Compound. Minato didn’t understand why he would come and not say hello, but then he noticed one of the ANBU guards going to meet Kakashi in the wood. It was Yamato of course. 

At first Minato wasn’t concerned about Yamato’s absence. There were a number of good reasons that a jonin might have for interrupting an ANBU on duty. Minato wasn’t a sensory type ninja. He could really only detect murderous intent or the flares of chakra that could indicate a presence or a particular jutsu. He didn’t know what Yamato and Kakashi could be doing in the woods for so long. Not when Yamato was on active duty. 

“Do you need to go?” Itachi asked casually.

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t know where he went, but one of my guards is gone and you’ve seemed worried since almost ten minutes since before he left. If you need to help him with something, please don’t concern yourself with me.” 

“Thank you, but it’s nothing.”

“You could bind me or render me unconscious. I don’t mind.” 

“Really. I am not here to guard you. The ANBU have that well in hand.”

Itachi carved in silence for a few minutes. Minato tried not to dwell on the question of Kakashi. He failed. 

“Do you think I should put a pressure release in the water fountain?”

Minato looked to Itachi. 

“If the water pressure builds too much, the fountain could explode. Better to have it leak a little now and then, as I’m sure you know, Lord Fourth Hokage.” 

Minato sighed. “He went to meet Kakashi.” 

“A concerned jonin has every right to detailed reports on my movements.” 

“No. He went to meet Kakashi. They meet regularly, I think.” 

Itachi paused for a long moment. “They say the Copy Ninja is a genius. I’m sure he would understand a better offer if he received one.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Minato said. “We have work to do.” Itachi shrugged and returned to his etching while Minato returned to the watering. He tried to avoid focusing on the pair in the forest until Yamato returned nearly an hour later, but it wasn’t easy. Minato wasn’t accustomed to jealousy and he didn’t know quite where his reason ended and the emotion began.


	48. Chapter 48

It wasn’t jealousy that brought Minato to Yamato’s living room where he waited patiently for the ANBU to return home. It was compassion. Minato was waiting to do Yamato a favor. Having been assigned to the morning shift, Yamato was due back well before dinner. Minato hoped he would come straight home, because he suspected Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei would be turning up at the Hatake Compound with keen appetites and he didn’t want to be late. Yamato would regret it if Minato was made to wait long. 

Minato wasn’t waiting very patiently at all. Yamato’s small apartment was bare. Everything was made of wood. The only personal item other than furniture and a few books was a framed picture of Kakashi, Yamato, and a third unknown man. Minato tried not to let that affect his mood. He had decided after leaving Itachi that his mood was immaterial. Emotions would not color the discussion he needed to have. 

A swirl of leaves brought Yamato in through his own window. His ANBU mask made it impossible to see his true reaction to finding an unexpected former Hokage waiting in his living room. “Lord Fourth,” he said, dropping to one knee, as a good ANBU should. 

“Please remove your mask,” Minato requested. He had thought long and hard before coming to the following conclusion. “If I speak with you as an ANBU, I must inform the current Hokage. I would prefer to speak with you as a man. The choice, however, is yours.” 

Yamato stood and removed his mask, placing it carefully on the coffee table. “Sir?” 

“You abandoned your duty for over an hour today.” 

“Sir, I—“

“I am well aware that it was Kakashi who called you away, just as I suspect that he will convince Itachi’s other guards that your absence was necessary and need not be reported. I fully intend to speak with him on the matter, but the dereliction was yours.” 

Yamato was stricken by the criticism. He deserved to be. “Lord Fourth, I promise you, I did not—“ 

Minato silenced him with a look. Commanding men was much like balancing one-handed on slippery river stones—once you learned the trick to it you never really forgot. “What you did or did not do while away from your post is irrelevant. The fact remains that you were away for personal reasons. ANBU are supposed to be above such distractions.”

“Yes, sir.” 

“I trust Itachi. I truly do, but your job is to distrust him. His guard is arranged in such a way that he physically cannot get to all of you before one of you escapes to warn the Hokage. If you think that my presence in some way negates your responsibility, then I will remind you that he has my trust. It would be the work of a moment for him to place me under a genjutsu and kill me at his leisure. I can assure you that he was aware of your departure without any clue from me. A ninja of his ability need not be a sensory type to know the position of his guards. That is why you are positioned as you are.” 

“I know sir. I helped design the formation.” 

“Then you are aware of how fully you failed in your duty today. Just because Itachi did not rebel—just because I do not believe that he will rebel—that does not give you an excuse to do anything less than your best.”

“You are correct, Lord Fourth. I deserve a formal reprimand. The Hokage’s standard punishment is a week of forced leave with heavy training. I will report myself.” 

“Yes, well.” Minato was uncomfortable. Yamato was technically correct, of course, but the fact remained that Minato was upset. Having the other man punished smacked of emotional retribution, which was the last thing he wanted. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I would like to trust you and Kakashi to do the right thing from this point forward. If you give me your word that it won’t happen again, there is no reason for anyone to report this incident to Lady Tsunade. A formal reprimand for something like this would stay in your file and adversely affect the rest of your career.” 

“I swear to you, Lord Minato, I will not allow a personal distraction of this nature to interfere with my duty ever again.” 

“Good,” Minato said, relieved. “I’ll speak to Kakashi and make sure he doesn’t try to tempt you or anyone else this way again.”

Yamato snorted a little. Whether it was in response to the idea that Kakashi’s temptations might be too much for him to resist or doubt in Minato’s persuasive abilities was unclear. It didn’t matter. 

“We’ll be leaving on a mission the day after tomorrow.” 

“I know. Itachi will be going with you, so his guard was informed as soon as it was decided.” 

“Then you’ll come to dinner tomorrow?” 

Yamato looked surprised by the invitation.

“Please. Kakashi deserves a proper sendoff, even if you are upset with me, doesn’t he?” 

“Yes. I mean, of course, sir, thank you for the invitation. I would be honored to join you. I am not upset with you at all.” 

Minato didn’t call Yamato out over the lie. No one appreciated a scolding, but hopefully it would have the desired affect. Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf needed to be mindful of their duty. Minato couldn’t turn a blind eye to an ANBU neglecting his, no matter how friendly and intelligent that ANBU was. He exchanged goodbyes with the wood style ninja and returned home in the quickest way possible. 

The talk with Yamato had not taken long. Minato was the first one home. He threw some rice on and made a simple, hearty curry while he waited. He did not have to wait long. Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei burst in with laughter and loud conversation before Minato had even finished setting the table. Kakashi turned up a few minutes later and dinner became a happy domestic affair. Minato saw no need to spoil things by trying to talk to Kakashi either away from or in front of the others. It was far more pleasant to listen to Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei talk about the vagaries of casting jutsu in tandem with a frog. 

Still, pleasant talk couldn’t last forever. Eventually Jiraiya-sensei went home and Naruto went to bed, leaving Minato alone to talk with Kakashi. Part of him wished for any excuse to delay the discussion even further. He knew that the line between emotion and a reasonable complaint would be even finer with Kakashi, but he also knew that he needed to walk it. If for no other reason than that he had promised Yamato he would.

“You didn’t stop to say hello when you came to the Uchiha Compound today,” he began mildly. 

Kakashi paused. “I didn’t realize you could sense my presence from that distance.”

“I could. Itachi could not, but he did remark on the absence of one of his guards.”

“Ah.”

“You have a funny way of showing that you don’t trust him.”

“I didn’t realize Yamato and I would take quite that much time.”

“While I have nothing but respect for your prowess, it doesn’t matter how quick you believe you could have made things. The fact remains that you distracted an ANBU from his duty for a recreational activity. I have already spoken with him, but you should know better as well, Kakashi.”

Kakashi was very still. Dread filled Minato’s chest. He knew what was coming. He shouldn’t have made the accusation quite so blatant. “You think Yamato and I were having sex.”

“I believe that what you were doing is largely immaterial. All that matters is what Yamato was not doing—the duty assigned to him by his Hokage.” 

“And you aren’t even a little bit jealous.” 

Minato didn’t want to lie, but the rules Jiraiya-sensei had given as guidelines for a relationship of this kind were quite clear. A show of jealousy would not produce desirable results from Kakashi. Therefore, it was with a perfectly straight, emotionless face, that Minato was able to answer. “Of course not. We do not have that sort of relationship. What you do with Yamato has no affect on me, unless you interrupt his duty. Then it affects every shinobi in the village.”

“I asked him to fuck me,” Kakashi said blandly. Minato had no way of avoiding Kakashi’s scrutinizing eye, so he was careful to react with only a slight disapproving frown. “Well, first I sucked him off, but that wasn’t enough for me. I needed a good, hard fuck and he gave it to me.” 

“I thought you were more discrete when it came to discussing your liaisons. Regardless, couldn’t you have found someone who was off duty at the time?”

“No one is as good as Tenzo. Wood style, you know.” Kakashi leered crudely. It wasn’t an expression Minato had seen before, and he found he didn’t like it. 

“Kakashi, you are a shinobi! I know you are because even before I became your teacher you truly understood the meaning of sacrifice and self-denial. Hell, I taught you more about indulgence and relaxing than I did about any of that. I can understand a lapse in control, but I refuse to believe that you actually think what happened today was the right thing to do.” 

“You aren’t jealous.” Minato didn’t understand the inflection in Kakashi’s voice, but the answer he needed to give was clear. 

“No.”

“You’re disappointed in me. As my former teacher.” 

Minato paused. They hadn’t had anything even approaching a student-teacher relationship since his revival. In fact, his dependence on Kakashi for emotional support often made their friendship seem exactly the other way around, yet it was a fairly accurate assessment. “Yes.”

Kakashi nodded once firmly. He stood up with the perfect posture he so rarely displayed as an adult and bowed formally. “I’m sorry to have disappointed you, Sensei. I did behave childishly today and for no good reason. Worse, if I am right about Itachi not being trustworthy then I needlessly endangered your life. It will not happen again. I promise.” 

The coolness of the apology was predictable. Minato had no one to blame for it but himself. Professionalism was, after all, exactly what he had asked for. “Thank you, Kakashi.” 

The jonin hesitated. “I don’t talk about you that way, either.” He offered a little, half smile that was hidden by his facemask, but it reached his visible eye and Minato believed he was sincere. Even if he wasn’t, the effort was comforting. “I haven’t told anyone about us, but if I did—I wouldn’t talk about you that way.” 

“Good. I was—surprised—by your phrasing.” 

“I know. I’m sorry.” Kakashi smiled softly again as he pulled his flack jacket from its hook and shrugged it on. “I’ve been behaving very badly today. I’ll correct that now.” 

“Are you going out?”

“Yeah. Guy’s been bugging me for a challenge since we rescued the Kazekage and I’ve been avoiding him. Selfishness is no longer the name of the game, though.” 

Minato could understand that. He smiled warmly. “Have fun with Guy. Do your best!” 

For a moment, Minato thought he saw something brittle in Kakashi’s smile, but before he had a chance to really look, the jonin was gone. Minato doubted himself briefly, but true friendship had to allow for honest criticism. He hated that he may have hurt Kakashi’s feelings, but for the first time in a long time, Kakashi had made a real mistake. Minato had done the right thing calling him out. He made some tea and put himself to bed. It had been a long day.


	49. Chapter 49

The tea Minato drank to sleep when he thought the nightmares might trouble him was a blessing, but it also made him less alert in the morning. Drugs always had a cost; that was why he liked avoiding the tea when he could circumvent it by taking comfort in Kakashi. Unfortunately, Kakashi had been unavailable the night before. It took Minato a moment to realize that he had, in fact, slept in the same room as his former student after all. He realized it just as he was about to step on Kakashi. Kakashi was lying on the floor next to Minato’s bed still wearing the clothes he’d gone out in the night before. He did not have any visible injuries, but that didn’t mean much. 

Minato dropped to his knees at once to check for a pulse and other signs of life. Kakashi opened one bloodshot eye.

"I'm okay," he groaned.

"You will be," Minato replied forcefully, preparing to teleport.

"No, seriously," Kakashi pressed his face into the floor and closed his eye again. "Guy and I had a drinking contest. Don't take me to the hospital; I'd never live it down."

"You're sure you're all right?"

"I feel like I drank a bottle of parasites and they're trying to get out through my temples, but I don't need a doctor, just sleep."

"And why are you on my floor?"

"I got a little lost. Can I please just lie here quietly for five more minutes? Or you could kill me and put me out of my misery.” 

Neither option appealed much to Minato. He scooped Kakashi up as gently as possible and put him into the bed. Kakashi blinked unhappily. Minato could tell he was frowning behind the facemask. 

“Sleep it off,” he suggested as softly as possible. “Just do it in a bed.” 

Kakashi relaxed against the pillow. “You don’t have to take care of me, Sensei,” he murmured miserably. 

Minato brushed a few silken, silver strands out of Kakashi’s face. “But you’re too sick to do anything but tolerate it,” he hoped. 

Kakashi sighed and didn’t say anything else. Reluctantly, Minato removed his hand from his friend’s forehead and left the room to let the hung-over man rest. Luckily Naruto was training in the garden. There was no way to keep the boisterous boy quiet, but Minato could certainly keep him occupied out there. First he put some simple white rice on to cook. That would be the best thing for Kakashi’s stomach when he woke. Rice and a great deal of water would be far more effective than any of the ridiculous hangover cures Minato had learned as Jiraiya-sensei’s student. 

Before Minato could go outside to join Naruto, there was a knock at the door. Minato answered it, noting that Leaf’s Blue Beast was looking mighty green around the gills. 

“Good Morning, Lord Fourth Hokage.” Guy sounded as subdued as Minato had ever heard him. “I am here to check on my Eternal Rival.” 

“Kakashi is fine. I just checked on him a few minutes ago, but he’s asleep. I’d prefer not to disturb him.” 

“Good. That’s good. Sleep is important.” 

“Bushier Brow Sensei?” Naruto asked, bounding into the house. Minato doubted Kakashi was still asleep. Guy winced at the boy’s volume. “What are you doing here?”

“I am on my way to do five thousand sit ups while hanging by my feet from the tallest tree in the forest,” Guy explained. “Kakashi defeated me in a challenge last night—um—ingesting poisons. My body forcefully expelled the poisons relatively early in our challenge, costing me the victory, and my rival managed to ingest several bottles more than I did in the first place. I wanted to check on him.” 

“Oh! We should get Sakura! She’s really good at making antidotes, you know!” 

“Kakashi doesn’t need an antidote,” Minato told his son, “just rest. You and I can go to one of the training fields so that the house is nice and quiet.” 

“Okay!” 

“Why don’t you go get your tools? Quietly.” 

“Right,” Naruto said, lowering his voice. He dashed off to his room with minimal crashing.

Minato didn’t need to know, but he couldn't resist asking. "Whose challenge was it? The drinking contest?"

Guy was a much smarter shinobi than most people assumed. He could prevaricate with the best and would never intentionally or unintentionally reveal a village secret. He was not, however, at his best, while Minato had once been very skilled at looking underneath the underneath. Paying close attention, Minato could pinpoint the moment he realized why the former Hokage was asking in his eyes.

"Mine," Guy lied. "I always prefer challenges that test our physical mettle, you know! After all, Kakashi has an awfully big advantage when it comes to the mental stuff."

"Of course," Minato said, hating to think that Kakashi had become the sort of person who looked for solace in alcohol. As soon as the thought occurred to him, however, he was able to dismiss it. If Kakashi had been the sort of man to solve problems with a bottle he wouldn't have needed Guy or an excuse to find one. Kakashi had become the sort of man who did something ill advised with a friend to release tension rather than lashing out and hurting someone else's feelings. It was a great deal healthier than being a boy who held onto his pain so tightly that he couldn't tolerate anyone else showing an emotion.

"Kakashi is too responsible to suggest a drinking contest," Guy continued. "As I'm sure you know, my Eternal Rival is a very Serious Shinobi and would never Impair His Faculties or Poison His Body without a Good and Reasonable Cause such as one of our Challenges."

"Well," Minato demurred, "I think a drinking contest is a perfectly fine challenge. After all, stamina and fortitude are important qualities for a shinobi to possess. And it isn't as though you wouldn't both be feeling rough the morning after a long taijutsu match. Not if you went all out."

"Splendid! I'm pleased you understand my reasons for issuing the challenge! They make a lot of sense when you phrase them that way!"

"If you're feeling better later, and you finish your penalty in time, perhaps you and your student Lee would like to join us for dinner tonight?"

"Thank you, Lord Fourth! I'm sure Lee will be honored by your gracious invitation. No obstacle will keep us away!"

Minato could feel the question reverberating within Guy, but the jonin was too polite to ask it. The truth was that Minato had issued the invitation for exactly the same reason he had really invited Yamato. Reprimanding Kakashi was the right thing to do and Minato would absolutely do it again, but he didn't want to face Kakashi's coldness—if Kakashi was going to be cold. Minato was trying not to infer too much from the fact that, while drunk, Kakashi had decided it would be better to pass out on the floor than to simply join Minato. On the mission they would both be professional, he only needed to worry about the single day before they left. He could avoid his former student for one day. Then he might never need to feel the cold at all before Kakashi forgave him. 

Training with Naruto was a great distraction. Minato asked him use his Tailed Beast chakra and attack all out. Glowing with orange light, the boy was nearly as fast as his father and their sparring became a real workout. Of course Jiraiya-sensei interrupted them pretty quickly to suggest that Naruto should be working on his tandem jutsu with the toads. Fortunately the old sage was kind enough to step in as a sparring partner while the boy worked. A legendary sage was also capable of giving Minato a little exercise. All too soon it was time for Minato to leave to prepare a dinner that he wouldn’t be ashamed to serve to guests. 

Tonkatsu was enough of an effort that it felt like a reasonable offering. He stopped by the market on the way home to pick up ingredients. When he finally returned home Kakashi was nowhere in sight. Just to be sure, Minato checked all of the bedrooms, not just his own and Kakashi’s. He was in luck. A few pleasantly distracting hours were spent cooking before the guests began arriving. The first to come were Guy and Lee, of course, full of their natural exuberance. 

“We brought a healthy salad,” Lee said eagerly, holding out a disgusting looking bowl of chopped beets, daikon, onions, and damp greens. 

“Thank you, Lee, it looks very nutritious. Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei are still out training, but I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Please make yourselves comfortable. Can I offer you some tea?” 

Minato placed the salad at the very center of the table while Guy and Lee both politely demurred. “If not tea, may I offer you something else to drink? I would like to have a little tea while we wait for the others to arrive.” 

Guy and Lee both agreed to tea as soon as their manners would allow it. The three of them passed a slightly awkward half hour discussing nutrition and training regimens. Lee seemed unusually subdued until Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei arrived; Minato wondered if he was tired, but he perked up as soon as his friend came home. At first Minato assumed that as a teenager sitting with two adults the young chunin had been bored, but later he heard the boy telling Naruto in hushed tones every single word that Minato had said. 

“Yeah,” Naruto said carelessly, “My dad likes you a lot! Wanna see the training post Kakashi-sensei let me set up in the garden?” 

Minato tried not to blush as Lee followed Naruto out, still murmuring about how the Lord Fourth Hokage liked him. Of course Jiraiya-sensei picked up on it right away. 

“Our great village hero,” he teased. “What an honor to be invited to your home! Can I have your autograph?” 

“Sure, Sensei! Let me get a knife. Is your cheek okay?” 

“I hope Lee has not made you uncomfortable, Lord Fourth. He is not accustomed to being singled out for an honor like this invitation over his peers.” 

Luckily Kakashi and Yamato came in before Minato had to find a way to protest that a simple dinner shouldn’t be considered an honor. He was aware that Naruto’s generation considered him a hero for the way he’d died. He found that to be an even less comfortable topic than wherever Kakashi and Yamato had been doing whatever they’d been doing together. Kakashi looked as impassive and good humored as ever, but he seemed slightly frustrated. Next to him there was no mistaking Yamato’s stern discontent. 

Minato tried to rectify the ANBU’s discomfort by being as solicitous as possible during dinner, but while Yamato was unfailingly polite, the attention clearly made him unhappy. Never in his life had Minato been more grateful for Jiraiya-sensei’s particular brand of socializing. With the old sage holding court—telling stories and making jokes—no one else needed to worry much about making conversation. Even Yamato seemed to have a good time in the end. He ate two helpings of Minato’s homemade red bean ice cream, and when he took his leave he thanked Minato profusely and actually expressed a desire to continue their acquaintance. 

“Thank you again for everything, Lord Minato. I promise I will find a way to repay your kindness one day soon,” he said. Minato stopped himself from saying that Yamato could repay any perceived debt by simply never sleeping with Kakashi again. It would have been a highly inappropriate response to such a generous overture. More importantly, Minato thought that if he kept trying he might really be able to form a friendship with the man. He was a good ninja and a good friend to Kakashi. The last thing Minato wanted was to keep feeling such an irrational dislike.


	50. Chapter 50

At least Kakashi didn’t leave with Yamato at the end of the dinner party. In fact, after everyone else had gone home and Naruto was asleep, he insisted on cleaning up everything and wouldn’t allow Minato to help at all. Watching someone else clean up a mess he’d made was uncomfortable, but when Minato turned to leave he must have surprised Kakashi. Naturally Kakashi caught all twelve of the dishes he’d dropped, but his shirt was suspiciously a loss. 

“Well, it was headed for the laundry in half an hour anyway,” the jonin said practically, shrugging out of his shirt and facemask before returning to the dishes. “You don’t mind, do you? After all, the company’s gone home.” 

Minato did not have words to express how little he minded. He also didn’t have the willpower to go to bed when Kakashi was revealing such an expanse of smooth skin and old scars. “Who could object to a view like that?” he said, trying for flirtatious but probably not managing anything more than awkward. Still, Kakashi rewarded him with a sideways smile as he continued cleaning up. Minato tried not to stare too much at the bow of his lips. 

“I changed my mind,” Kakashi said, handing Minato a towel. “You can dry.” Minato was shinobi enough not to blush. Flirting was good. Flirting was absolutely a step in the right direction. Or the completely wrong direction and Kakashi wasn’t flirting, just uncomfortable with Minato staring. Fortunately, Kakashi seemed happy to stand in close quarters, brushing up against Minato again and again even as the former Hokage tried to avert his eyes and make room at the sink. It was probably flirting.

“Bedtime,” Minato said at last, with some satisfaction, as Kakashi finished wiping down the counter. They had managed to find their usual rhythm working together. Kakashi had very likely forgiven Minato’s interference in his affairs. 

“Want company?” 

The offer was more than he’d dared to hope for. Kakashi wasn’t feeling cold at all. Astounded that it could be this easy, Minato suspected that was the advantage of casual relationships. There was no reason for Kakashi to be upset about their earlier conversation, as Minato had known from the start. Friends were honest with each other.

“No pressure,” Kakashi shrugged, turning away. Obviously Minato had waited too long to respond. He lurched forward gracelessly to catch Kakashi by the arm.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “I want company.” 

Kakashi crushed their mouths together at once. Minato relented happily under the assault, allowing the skilled shinobi to back him into the kitchen table while he sucked eagerly on his tongue. Holding on to Kakashi as tightly as he dared, Minato pulled the taller man closer. He needed to be closer. “Anything,” Kakashi vowed against the line of Minato’s jaw. “I’ll do anything you want.” 

Minato’s hips jerked forward unconsciously. He had to be imagining this; it was too perfect. He pulled back a little to look into Kakashi’s eyes. Both were open, but the man was smirking irreverently. Not a genjutsu, then. 

“I’m not feeling choosy,” he shrugged gracefully. There was a sharp twist in Minato’s stomach, but letting him believe that Kakashi was as desperate for this as he was would have been cruel. Kakashi was being honest; friends were honest with each other. The dizzying pull of lust made it easy to ignore less convenient feelings. “Might want to head to your room, though. We wouldn’t want to wake anyone.” 

A good idea, but Minato couldn’t pull away from Kakashi. That wasn’t an insurmountable problem for two shinobi and Kakashi was happy to assist, pressing Minato against the wall time and again as they attempted to navigate the short hallway while grinding their bodies together. 

“Do you have any requests?” Kakashi repeated when Minato finally shoved him against the door of his room, shutting it and locking it for good measure. It took Minato a minute to register the question. He felt that was excusable given the fact that Kakashi was already more than half naked. 

“You said—before, yesterday—you mentioned needing to have Yamato penetrate you.” Had Minato been less giddy he might have tried to broach the subject in a way that didn’t bring up their argument.

“Did I manage to spark a competitive impulse after all? Want to see if you can make me want you more?” 

“No, of course not.” Minato recollected himself enough to attempt tact.

“Of course not,” Kakashi sighed, tugging Minato’s shirt off, temporarily blinding the blonde and trapping his arms. His mismatched eyes were so clear when the shirt was pulled away. It was such a handsome face when completely uncovered. Minato needed to kiss it again; Minato needed to answer the question.

“I have never experienced that particular act,” Minato explained, “but if it’s that good—“ 

“It is,” Kakashi interrupted. It hardly seemed possible, but his eyes were even wider. The Sharingan whirled in a frantic circle. 

“I want to,” Minato said simply. “I want you.” 

Kakashi responded by tackling him onto the bed. Any remaining clothing was divested in a few hot seconds. Kakashi covered Minato like a blanket, pressing him into the bed with strong, calloused hands. “You’re sure?” he gasped, not pulling away at all. “You haven’t done this before.” 

“I’m sure. I’ve thought about it, in the past. I even tried once,” but Kushina hadn’t been very interested and Minato had been pretty embarrassed by asking in the first place. Plus, “I didn’t like how impersonal it was. The dildo, I mean.”

Kakashi’s whole body shuddered. 

“Are you all right? Should you be using your Sharingan now? Why are you using your Sharingan now?” 

“Yes and definitely.” Kakashi’s voice fell below its usual register and Minato inadvertently spread his legs a little more. “I like being able to read your responses. I like seeing how turned on you are by this.” 

“Ah.” 

“Like right there. Not much of a reaction to observe without it. Your heart rate increased by a beat or two, but it was already going strong. Your chakra, on the other hand,” Kakashi’s hand slid down to grasp Minato’s buttock firmly. “That’s ramped up and colored with desire now. You like it when I grab your ass.” 

“Yes,” Minato agreed, shifting against the pillow that had somehow slipped under his hips. 

Kakashi dropped a kiss to Minato’s lower abdomen. “You like the direction I’m heading now.” 

“Yes.” 

Teeth raked gently across Minato’s inner thigh. “You want me to fuck you.” 

“I trust you. You shouldn’t need to see my chakra to know that.” 

It was the wrong thing to say. Obviously it was the very worst possible thing Minato could have said, because Kakashi’s lips did not close around Minato. Instead, he pulled back and sat up on his knees. “Sorry, Sensei.” 

“I am not your teacher,” Minato said quickly, sitting up while Kakashi _left the bed_. “I shouldn’t have—“

Kakashi deftly tied a black cloth over his left eye. “Don’t get up.” More kisses were used to maneuver Minato back into the position Kakashi clearly preferred. “You’re right, though,” he added, his lips hovering less than half an inch from Minato’s tip. “The last thing I want is to tire myself out. We have a mission tomorrow, and I plan on taking my time tonight.” 

Any answer Minato might have given turned into a garbled groan as Kakashi’s mouth finally closed around him. The delicate scent of sandalwood and spice wafted through the room when Kakashi opened the little jar of oil. Minato tried to pay attention, but too much was happening at once. Kakashi’s tongue teased along the underside of his cock. Gentle fingers spread oil on, across, and around, but never into him. A strong hand gripped one of his thighs, keeping him exactly where he was wanted. All Minato could do was fist his hands in the sheets and hold on. 

Finally Kakashi swallowed Minato completely and almost incidentally breached him for the first time. It was difficult to focus on the sensation. It was more difficult not to spill down Kakashi’s throat now that he was completely enveloped. He didn’t think having a finger inside him was pleasurable. All of the pleasure was in Kakashi’s perfect, skillful mouth, but it wasn’t painful either. It was only a little strange in the way new sensations generally were. Kakashi hummed softly around Minato sending vibrations through the very core of him and nearly destroying every last semblance of control. 

Then the finger pushed deeper and was suddenly very, very pleasurable. Minato lost himself. Kakashi leaned away after drinking him down, refraining from touching those most sensitive places, but he stroked inside Minato with a second finger. 

“Sorry,” Minato breathed when he was able. “I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so—“ 

“Come now, your resurrected body isn’t any older than mine. You’ll rise again.” 

Minato laughed at the terrible joke, then gasped as Kakashi made his point with those clever, nimble fingers. Electric pleasure pulsed forth every time they struck true. Kakashi grinned against Minato’s thigh and nipped him gently as he continued. Indulging in those long slow strokes was the best kind of hedonism. When Kakashi added a third finger Minato relaxed and let go of any remaining attempt to focus. Everything was so good. 

“Do you want to turn over? It’s easier, the first time.” 

Minato did not want to roll over; he wanted to keep looking at Kakashi. However, he was willing to compromise. Flipping Kakashi over, Minato straddled him easily. Kakashi’s surprised laugh was warm and his hands slid easily to Minato’s hips. 

“Not exactly what I meant.” 

“I know; I want to see you.” 

Apparently it was Kakashi’s turn to struggle for words. “Yeah,” he agreed as Minato sank down. “Yeah.” 

Even after so much preparation, the stretch was considerable. Minato took his time, lowering himself by inches and rocking experimentally. Kakashi was struggling to breathe and his hands gripped Minato’s hips like vices. Moving together slowly at first, Minato quickly grew adept at the action, but it wasn’t quite what having Kakashi’s fingers stroking inside him had been. Still, they were as close as it was possible for two people to be. Minato bent forward to kiss Kakashi and to lose himself in such a kiss. 

Kakashi must have flipped them again during the kiss. He was once again covering Minato completely, buried deep. At the serenest moments Kakashi’s smile was enough to derail Minato’s control. His wild half-grin as he pulled back and drove deep enough to release that breathtaking electricity shattered Minato. Kakashi continued. Over and over with unfailing aim he pushed Minato to the edge until his body screamed for release. 

“No,” Kakashi begged, catching Minato’s wrist in a strong, sweaty grip before Minato managed to touch himself. “Just this. Just me. Please. Minato. Please. Let me. Give me. Minato.” 

It was too much. It wasn’t enough. Then Kakashi offered a shaky smile and Minato exploded in ecstasy. Kakashi groaned something unintelligible in response. Minato had hardly finished spilling between them when he thrust deep and finished as well. Slowly, Kakashi withdrew and collapsed over Minato, his hot breath tickling Minato’s neck. Eventually, lazily, Minato shifted a little to wind his arms in a proper embrace.

Later Kakashi moved to get up. Minato’s hold was too strong. He was gripping Kakashi too tightly and he needed to release him. 

“Minato,” Kakashi prompted, as gently as he could while being crushed against Minato’s body. Minato needed to let go. He knew that. “I’m not going anywhere,” Kakashi promised, “but we’ll regret it in the morning if we don’t clean up a little now.” 

Minato took a deep breath and tried, but Kakashi was so warm and close. He couldn’t accept a cool distance. Not right away. 

A kiss brushed Minato’s neck. “You trust me, remember? You said so yourself. I know you aren’t ready for—I won’t leave. I swear.” 

Minato released him. Kakashi didn’t even have to leave the bed to produce a warm, damp washcloth from somewhere.


	51. Chapter 51

Racing to the Land of Iron with a team was very different from traveling there with Jiraiya-sensei for reconnaissance. Even Jiraiya-sensei, who needed to stop for long lunches and try for an inn every night during their initial trip, kept up the pace. The plan was to arrive no more than a day before Orochimaru so that the team would have time to set up without being in place long enough to alert the enemy. With Naruto and Sakura constantly spurring on an already motivated group of ninja, the team made far better time than anticipated. They reached the Land of Iron two full days before their planned arrival. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had apparently decided to surprise his scientists by showing up before he was expected. 

Even Sakura and Sai could sense it when the came close to the small village near Orochimaru’s scientific outpost. Naruto, of course, was oblivious. “What’s up? Why is everyone stopping?”

“The boy has a point,” Jiraiya-sensei said without the slightest hint of a smile. “We need to go _now_.” 

“Something big is happening over there,” Sakura whispered to Naruto. “Can’t you feel the chakra building in that direction?” 

“Um. Oh, yeah!” he lied. 

There wasn’t time to explain to Sakura that Naruto’s observation of chakra was dulled by the fact that he had spent his childhood constantly sensing the most massive chakra source ever to exist without understanding the seal that kept it separate from him. It was far more important to explain what was happening in the village. 

“Orochimaru has five others with him on the far side of the village graveyard. Doctor Shin and his two assistants I recognize, they are the ones raising the dead,” Minato began.

“Sasuke and Kabuto are the others,” Itachi confirmed.

“Very well, then we go with our initial plan. I will handle the monsters—they have poison, remember, so Naruto, Sakura, and Sai must stay well away, we can’t afford to have anyone take a hit—the three of you will handle Shin and his associates. Jiraiya-sensei will face Orochimaru. Kakashi will take Kabuto. Finally Itachi will do his best to speak with his brother.” 

Everyone nodded in understanding. As one unit they sprinted toward the graveyard. Minato could have won any race easily, but in order to ensure that everyone had the most strategic opponent the Leaf shinobi needed to reach the battlefield together. The difference between when Minato might have reached Orochimaru’s experiment and when the team finally did was only a few seconds. Those few interminable seconds burst with worry about the innocent local civilians. 

The village was a small one, too small to even have a name, really, but it was old. Around a hundred families lived in the area. Most were farmers with their own land who had been in the area for generations. Regrettably, while those farm families would be removed from the danger of the initial attack, they still buried their dead in the village cemetery. Over a thousand of the terrible monsters were clawing free of their own graves when the Leaf ninja crested the hill. Minato didn’t waste time. He opened two scrolls of kunai and got to work. 

The monsters didn’t seem to feel pain, so debilitating wounds such as a severed limb merely slowed the creatures, but one could be reliably put down by decapitation or severing the spinal column. After killing six or seven and wounding a half dozen more, Minato quickly realized that he wouldn’t be doing his part if he simply fought the things head on. The most important task was keeping them corralled. 

Minato used his strongest fire style to create a wall of flames along the crest of a hill, blocking the most direct path to the village. It would have been more effective if Gamako had been the one casting the fire jutsu and Minato had been amplifying it with his wind style—they might actually have killed some of the monsters instead of just blocking a route—but Gamabunta and Manda were already destroying enough of the landscape. Minato needed to minimize risk to the innocents nearby. Luckily Jiraiya-sensei thought similarly; he was leading Orochimaru and the giant snake away from the local people as much as he could. 

Minato focused on keeping the creatures trapped between him and the wall of fire. Trying to move toward the rest of the battle caught his attention immediately and killing those beasts at once was the best he could do when so many of them were swarming. Big techniques like his Shadow Clone Shuriken and Wind Scythe had little effects because the monsters would recover from almost any wound to keep attacking. He needed to move fast and focus on eliminating his opponents one by one. 

A chakra blade was his best bet. Fortunately, he’d theorized as much when planning for the mission and he had one, even though he didn’t usually feel the need to fight with such an advantage. By funneling his wind chakra through the short blade, it became the sharpest and most powerful cutting tool ever to be used by a shinobi. The undead lizard men had nothing to counter it. Wind chakra sliced right through tough scales and claws whenever they tried to defend themselves and could sever a head from a body as easily as a kunai could split a leaf. By teleporting rapidly around his area of operation, Minato could avoid any of the enemy’s attacks, and the stupid things were just smart enough to see him as a threat. They focused on attacking him instead of swarming out of their corral as they might have by ignoring him and all of their dead. It was just enough that he would be able to return them all to their rightful graves without any further damage. 

Having a working strategy was a relief, even though Minato had hardly begun to decimate the swarm of lizard creatures. Of course, Minato knew better than to relax his focus. Even the best shinobi could lose a battle if they allowed their resolve to waver. If one of his companions was in trouble, Minato couldn’t afford to lose his command of the monster horde by leaving his position to help. Watching the others fight was impossible. Glancing up once or twice to check as he flitted about dispatching the boldest and strongest fiends, however, was unavoidable.

No strategy ever completely survived first contact with the enemy. Kakashi was not fighting Kabuto. Instead, he was helping Jiraiya-sensei and Gamabunta face Orochimaru and Manda. That was probably for the best. Minato had faith in his teacher, but Orochimaru could be very devious. Kakashi would see through any traps.

Minato dispatched several lizard men deep within their confused ranks, drawing their attention and attacks back toward the wall of fire and away from the rest of the battle. Then he teleported to the neutral zone and picked off the bold stragglers who weren’t trying to find and attack him but were instead going to rescue their scientific tormenters. 

Naruto was fighting both of Shin’s assistants while Sakura battled the doctor himself. They clearly had a way of calling the creatures to them, but the genin were skillful enough to interrupt their seals and let Minato continue dealing with the beasts. The scientists didn’t have much else to defend against shinobi with, and would clearly be finished within a few minutes.

With renewed vigor, Minato prevented any reinforcements from reaching the battle against his son. He eliminated a dozen along the edge of the herd closest to their creators then drew the beasts back to the heart of the graveyard with another feint. 

Kabuto had somehow faced off against Sai. The Super Beast Scroll was able to keep the vile medical ninja at a distance, but Sai couldn’t do enough damage to keep the spectacled man from regenerating. They seemed to be fighting to a standstill, which was sufficient. All Sai needed to do was keep Kabuto occupied until help could reach him. In a sense, all any of them were doing was keeping their opponents occupied.

Except for Minato, of course. He needed to destroy all of the mindless monsters that existed for the sole purpose of destruction. That was not the responsibility of a mere holding pattern. One of the creatures found his way to the end of the wall of fire. Potentially the thing could go around it and reach the village that had kindly sheltered Minato on his last visit. Minato terminated the beast with extreme prejudice and continued slaughtering any of the animals that were spreading out enough to approach either end of the barricade. 

The others were all holding their opponents to give Itachi a chance to reach Sasuke. Finally, although it was less than five minutes since the two forces had clashed together, Itachi cut down the gigantic white snake summoned to protect his younger brother and rushed toward the mission objective. Both Uchiha had their Sharingan bared and swirling. Itachi carried no visible weapons, while Sasuke had a long katana unsheathed. It should never have been able to get past Itachi’s guard. Itachi was older, more experienced, and had a far superior form of the Sharingan. Simply stabbing at him shouldn’t even have slowed his attack, but somehow as they closed together the sword impaled the older Uchiha right through the stomach. Minato watched the hatred and abject rage on the younger brother’s face morph to something like shock. 

Slowly, Itachi raised two bloodied fingers and tapped his younger brother on the forehead. “Forgive me, Sasuke,” he murmured. A black crow sprang from Itachi’s back, cawed once, and spiraled up into the cloudy gray sky.


	52. Chapter 52

Minato understood why Itachi had allowed himself to be stabbed. He understood the moment he saw the crow. In fact, he had promised Itachi that he would be allowed to do exactly this. Shisui’s eye would convince a person of anything that they could possibly be convinced by. If Sasuke could not forgive Itachi, then his brother believed he had the right to kill him. Itachi didn’t want the case to be confused by a lot of unnecessary talk, or to risk his brother being jailed for a crime, so he had allowed the boy to strike a decisive blow before offering any explanation. What happened after that would be entirely Sasuke’s choice. 

“Help me!” the boy cried as his brother fell to the ground with the sword still piercing his belly. “Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Anyone, please, help me! My brother! Please! My brother!” 

Minato cared a great deal about Itachi, but he couldn’t answer Sasuke’s plea. He had a responsibility to stop the monstrous lizards before they attacked the village or his comrades. Fortunately, others weren’t quite as stoic. 

Naruto and his clones struck each of his two opponents with enormous Rasengan, sending them spinning back into a large memorial statue. Just as they landed, Sakura hit Doctor Shin with all of her strength, slamming him into his two assistants and breaking the statue and pinning all three unconscious scientists under heavy stone. 

Both genin raced to the side of their former teammate. “Sasuke!” Naruto demanded excitedly. “What happened?” 

“I stabbed him. I killed my brother.” The boy looked up at his friend with shocked eyes. “I didn’t think it would work. I didn’t—I thought I wanted to kill him, but—“

“Later,” Sakura commanded. “Naruto, help me roll Itachi onto his back. Sasuke, get ready to pull the sword out when I say so—not a second before.” 

“Sakura.” Sasuke gaped at the girl as though he had never seen her before. 

“Itachi?” she asked, much more kindly, “Are you with us?” 

Minato couldn’t hear the young man’s response, but he could see his lips moving. For a well-trained first responder like Sakura, that was probably enough to work with. Naruto and Sasuke were perfectly capable of protecting her while she worked. Minato needed to focus once more on his own battle. 

Without the scientists attempting to call the lizard monsters to their aid, the beasts focused solely on finding and attacking Minato. Which, in turn, made them even easier to predict. Keeping the creatures controlled and killing them quickly became straightforward and practically routine. Minato couldn’t help letting his attention drift back to the rest of the battle. 

Naruto was no longer at Sasuke’s side. The young Uchiha was still clutching his brother’s hand while Sakura worked, but the bloody sword was lying nearby and Itachi looked as though he would make it. Unfortunately, Naruto had gone to fight Kabuto with Sai. That was a cause for concern. Naruto fought in much closer quarters than the artist did and a medical ninja like Kabuto could do a lot of damage by making contact with his opponent. 

Minato was right to worry. Kabuto dispatched Naruto’s clones and Sai’s beasts in quick succession before landing a blow on the real Naruto, severing the tendons of his right arm. The appendage hung limply at Naruto’s side, preventing the boy from forming seals or using jutsu. Thankfully, Naruto had other options. He closed his eyes and began to glow with a telltale orange light. 

Using the chakra of the Demon Fox healed Naruto’s arm right away. He brought ten times as many clones forth as he’d been fighting with before and attacked Kabuto from all sides. Even with his healing factor and speed, Kabuto couldn’t keep up with that many attacks. Not when Sai’s snakes twisted around him, trapping and slowing him at every turn. Naruto hit the spy head on with a Super Giant Rasengan. Of course, an ANBU knew how to take advantage of an opportunity. 

Sai followed Naruto’s strike with a pack of giant dogs and an anaconda twice the size of his target. The dogs sank their teeth deep into the wounded man while the snake wrapped him in tight coils. He was trapped very easily. 

Minato couldn’t see Kakashi and Jiraiya-sensei’s fight with Orochimaru from the graveyard, but he only had a hundred of the lizard monsters left to take out before he could assist them. The beasts were too stupid to give up and try to run, so they were even easier to pick off by spreading them across the graveyard. Once the creatures couldn’t cluster and try to swarm his defenses, he hardly even needed to teleport around them to stay safe. Of course, they were still incredibly strong and navigating the fallen bodies and empty graves presented a challenge. Minato didn’t leave anything to chance. He focused on his own fight until the last monster was completely immobile on the ground. 

Someone had good timing. Just as he finished, he saw the top of Gamabunta’s head vanish as the toad returned to Mount Myoboku. It appeared that all four battles were over and his help would not be needed anywhere.

“Orochimaru got away,” Jiraiya-sensei reported grimly. He was half carrying Kakashi back to the graveyard and Sakura. The normally fair shinobi looked deathly pale and was sweating far more than he should be, even after a hard battle. Jiraiya-sensei was injured and filthy as well, but he seemed to have evaded a poisoning. 

“It was my fault,” Kakashi grunted. “You could have gone after him.” 

“Orochimaru wasn’t our objective,” Minato said firmly. “Kabuto escaped as well, but it’s better to finish our mission without casualties than to worry about any of that.” 

“What are you talking about, Dad?” Naruto gestured wildly to the man trapped in Sai’s anaconda. 

“Oh,” said Sai. Minato thought he might actually look embarrassed, if one searched his usual expressionless mien carefully. “Of course. How foolish of me to have missed it.” Sai twisted his brush through the air and the snake disappeared in a splash of ink. A corpse that looked exactly like Kabuto was left behind.

“What?” Naruto stared at Sai in shock. “You killed him? Why did you kill him?” 

“Sai didn’t kill him, Naruto.”

“Well I didn’t kill him, you know!” 

“No one killed him,” Minato said, releasing the jutsu disguising the corpse. The young man had dark hair, civilian clothes, and a sad expression. He clearly hadn’t been dead for long before Kabuto sealed him, but Minato didn’t want to think about that. “Sakura how is Itachi?” 

“Better,” Itachi answered, sitting up. “Much better.” 

“Well enough that I can look at Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura agreed, forcing Itachi to remain seated with strong hands. “But not well enough to move out any time soon.” The Uchiha smiled with a tolerant bemusement and didn’t try to move further. 

“Good,” Minato said, trying not to hover as Jiraiya-sensei levered Kakashi into an uncomfortable seat on the ground. 

“I can’t believe we were tricked!” Naruto said. He was still staring at the corpse Kabuto had used for his final substitution. Minato wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, that he simply didn’t have the experience to predict a trick like that, and that anyone could be diverted by a skillful illusion. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop anxiously scrutinizing Sakura’s deft medical analysis. 

“You could be tricked by a monkey, dummy,” Sasuke said absently. “You’re really all right, Itachi?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“I’m—don’t—don’t die,” the boy concluded, not looking at his brother. Now that the danger was past, he looked awkward and uncomfortable, though he was clearly trying for nonchalant. 

Sakura looked confident enough, but Lady Tsunade had mentioned poisons as an area where her student needed work. Minato could teleport Kakashi back to the village where the Hokage herself could treat him, but weak as he was from the battle, he could only take one person. That would leave the others relatively undefended. Orochimaru might try to reclaim Sasuke immediately. If he wasn’t injured the way Jiraiya-sensei was, and if he had reinforcements close by, it could be a very near thing. Minato shouldn’t risk it. He certainly couldn’t leave Naruto behind.

“You’re the dummy, dummy,” Naruto grumbled. “Aren’t you even going to thank us for rescuing you?”

Sasuke snorted. “I’ll thank Sakura when she’s not busy. You’d just let it go to your head, loser.” 

Sakura put a drop of Kakashi’s blood into a clear vial and swirled it around. The liquid turned blue. “It’s okay,” she announced. “This is a poison Orochimaru uses frequently. Lady Tsunade gave me an antidote to bring along!” She injected Kakashi with a small syringe. Almost immediately his sweating stopped. 

Minato silently thanked whatever gods might be listening. This mission had been largely Minato’s doing. A casualty would have been unthinkable, no matter who sustained the injury. 

“I know we probably don’t want to stay here long, but they both need to rest at least a little.” 

“I can travel,” Kakashi and Itachi said in perfect tandem. 

“We’ll spend the night in the village,” Minato corrected. “Jiraiya-sensei and I know a good inn.” 

“The beautiful Kimiko will be delighted to see you again, especially now that you’ve saved her village.” 

“And we’ll all leave the innkeeper’s daughter alone,” he continued, pretending his former teacher hadn’t spoken. 

“Sure we will, but you could have a little fun, boy-o.” Jiraiya-sensei smirked. He had absolutely no consideration for their mixed company or Naruto’s presence. “After all, we just had a big battle, and you’re the only one who was truly victorious. You deserve something simple. Uncomplicated. Diverting.” 

Minato ignored him. “I’ll keep first watch. Sai will take second. Jiraiya, you can have the third.” 

“Oh-ho! Jiraiya, eh?” The old sage sighed and scrubbed a hand through his long white hair. “Sorry, Lord Fourth, I’ll be good.” 

Minato knew that it was always hard for his teacher to face Orochimaru. Furthermore, his own temper was far too short after Kakashi’s injury. That wasn’t reason enough to pick a fight. While everyone was picking up their salvageable weapons and dropped kunai, preparing to support the injured on the way to the village, he bumped his sensei’s shoulder with his own. “Lets go for a drink when we get home, okay?” 

Jiraiya-sensei smiled. Not his usual gaping grin, but a small, genuine quirk at the corner of his mouth. He accepted Minato’s apology. “Okay. You really did do well today. A thousand enemies with no more damage to the landscape than a little scorched grass? I couldn’t have done it.” 

“I had a great teacher.”


	53. Chapter 53

“I owe you an explanation,” Itachi said quietly.

“Yeah. You do,” Sasuke agreed.

Minato didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but both boys knew he was keeping watch on the roof of the Inn. If they truly believed that being alone in a room was enough to ensure their privacy, then the Uchiha weren’t the clan they claimed to be. Anyway, they were talking long after the rest of the party had fallen silent. It wasn’t as though Minato had anything else to listen to. 

“When I spoke to you that night, when I used the Mangekyo on you, I lied.”

“Okay.”

“I did kill our parents. I killed the majority of our clan.”

“The majority? Then some are still alive?”

“No. Other than the two of us, only one Uchiha lives. He is the one who helped me that night. He murdered those I did not kill. In a sense, he is the reason for all that happened that night.” 

“Who is he?”

“Madara Uchiha, though some believe that cannot be true.”

“The legendary shinobi who was killed by the first Hokage?”

“The same. Some believe that he is only attempting to pass himself off as Madara to achieve his goals, but I have seen him do things no other Uchiha could dream of. Moreover, he is the one who caused the Nine Tailed Fox to attack Leaf Village all those years ago when you were a baby.”

“Then the Fourth Hokage must have defeated him.”

“Defeated, but not destroyed. The Hokage sacrificed himself to seal the Demon Fox into Naruto by sealing himself away inside the Reaper Death God with half of the demon’s chakra. Madara was weakened, and he could not hope to use the Nine Tails again, but he was not stopped. He went to Hidden Mist next and controlled their Kage with the Sharingan. Meanwhile, the villagers of the Hidden Leaf knew that only an Uchiha could control the Nine Tails and make him attack. They were suspicious.” 

“Of Madara?”

“Of all Uchiha. Our clan did not respond well. Resentment grew and the police force became a bastion of something else. Resistance. Our father decided that the only way to move forward was to kill the Third Hokage and take over the village by force, subjugating our fellows and proving Uchiha superiority once and for all. He would be the next Hokage and all others would kneel before him.”

“What?!”

“It is true. You were too young to know of it at the time. The only innocent Uchiha.” 

“I don’t—I don’t believe you.”

“But you remember it. The secret meetings you wanted to go to. The hushed voices that stopped talking whenever you approached a room.”

“You were their conduit to the center of the village.”

“Yes. Father thought I was a spy. I was, but I was not his. I told the Hokage and my ANBU leader everything they planned.” 

“And they ordered you to kill everyone?”

“Eventually.”

“How is that any better than what our father planned? It was murder!”

“Do you remember my friend Shisui?”

“They accused you of killing him. Your eye was different, after, and Father told me to stop following you. You killed him to get the Mangekyo.”

“No. He killed himself. I only watched. Shisui’s Sharingan was the most powerful of all. His eye could persuade. If a shinobi could be convinced, Shisui could convince him. I had seen him order a man to kill himself and he did it easily. Under his eyes, comrades—lifelong friends—fought each other to the death. Loyal ninja of other villages told him all of their secrets. It was a near absolute domination of another’s will. It could only be resisted when what he ordered a person to do went completely contrary to his or her character. He could not order a mother to kill her child. Nor could he order the Third Hokage to do anything that man saw as harmful to the village.”

“If he was so strong, why would he kill himself?”

“I convinced him that a violent revolt against our fellow villagers was wrong. That killing our comrades would be unforgivable. He was my best friend. He believed me.”

“So he killed himself? Moron.”

“One night, while you were sleeping safely in your bed, the entire clan had a meeting. Usually we met only in small groups to avoid suspicion, but that meeting was an exception. Every Uchiha in the village was there, except you. Every person who possessed the Sharingan was there, except Kakashi. Shisui used his power. He tried to persuade them all that violence wasn’t the answer. Not that Father shouldn’t be Hokage or that we should not take over the village, he only tried to make them see that we should not kill anyone to bring it about. He put every fiber of his being, every ounce of his ability, into that one suggestion—let’s not kill anyone. Not a single member of our clan was convinced.”

“Oh.”

“They wanted to kill. They planned to kill. Shisui knew that we would have to stop them, that there was only one way to stop them, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t be responsible for that. So he plucked out his own eyes and gave them to me. One he gave to the Head of ANBU and the other he gave to me. Then, he took his own life. He could not bear to see what happened next.”

Minato heard a small shuffling. Perhaps Sasuke reached out to his brother in some way. Minato had difficulty imagining what gesture the aloof boy might offer, but he hoped it gave Itachi some comfort. 

“It was at that time that Madara approached me,” Itachi continued. “He wanted to destroy Leaf Village completely for what he saw as the Uchiha’s ancient betrayal of him. However, he also wanted me to join him. He saw potential in me.”

Itachi was silent for a long moment. For the first time, Sasuke didn’t interrupt him. 

“The Hokage didn’t order me to kill our family. It was the Head of ANBU and the Hokage’s advisors. The Third Lord simply allowed the order to stand.”

“Why did it have to be you? It didn’t have to be you!”

“Because of Madara, Sasuke.”

“So that you could go spy on some guy claiming to be a famous dead ninja! That’s stupid! You should just have killed him!”

“I’ve tried. The Fourth Hokage tried when you were only a baby. Neither of us succeeded. We needed more information, someone to get close enough to him to uncover a weakness. That was not the only consideration, however. If I killed our family then there could be no other casualties among the Leaf shinobi.”

“Because you were the best, and anyone else sent against the Uchiha would fail.”

“Yes.”

“You always did have a big head.”

Itachi didn’t respond.

“You used it on me, didn’t you? Shisui’s eye. The one you have”

“Yes.”

“I thought you must have. You tapped my forehead the way you always do and said, ‘Forgive me, Sasuke.’ Just like when we were kids. And I remembered all the times you used to do that. And I just—wasn’t angry with you anymore.”

“I didn’t think it would work.”

“I’m pretty surprised that it did. I feel like I’ve spent my whole life hating you.” 

“That’s fair. That was the idea.”

“It was a stupid idea. This whole time I feel like I’ve been sick with anger. It was the only thing that mattered to me and it poisoned anything that might have been good in my life. But that was stupid. I spent just as much time having you as a brother, didn’t I? When you were the only member of our family who ever really had time for me?”

“I—Sasuke—I really am sorry.”

“Why did you lie to me? Why make me hate you?”

“To make you strong. I hoped that by trying to kill me, you would become powerful enough to be safe from the machinations around you.” 

“Everyone used to say you were a genius.” Sasuke sounded so sour. Minato wondered how far forgiveness could be forced.

“Sasuke?”

“You just told me that the most powerful user of the Sharingan you knew killed himself rather than make the choices you did. You assume too many things.” 

“Forgive me, Sasuke.” 

“Maybe.”

“If?”

“Teach me a shuriken jutsu.”

Itachi’s relieved laugh was surprisingly clear. Minato assumed it was some private joke between the brothers. It was good to hear. 

“The story doesn’t end with my crime, you know, even if you can forgive it.”

“I know. I want to know more. Like who that guy Naruto keeps calling Dad is, why Kakashi-sensei keeps deferring to him, when Sakura learned medical ninjutsu, how you came to be aligned with them, and what changed your mind in the end. But all of that can wait.”

“It can?”

“You’re injured. Sakura, who is apparently a pretty good doctor now, said you need to sleep. So sleep.”

“Sasuke.”

“Just go to bed already, Itachi. Some jerk ran you through with a sword pretty recently.”

“Some jerk?”

“He had his reasons.”

“It will be okay, you know.”

“Yeah, you’re the strongest. You should still rest after you’ve been hurt.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“Of course not it was part of your whole plan. My strike never should have connected in the first place. You were just going to let me kill you if I couldn’t forgive you.”

“It would have given you the Mangekyo Sharingan and Sakura could have given you my eyes. An Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan that would never lose it’s light.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, but I turned off the light so you would shut up and go to sleep.”

“I forgive you for stabbing me. Your friends have already forgiven you for leaving. Everything really can be—better. Now.”

“We’ll live together in the Village. I’ll go on missions with Team Seven like some kid with a paintbrush never replaced me. How does that even—just go to sleep, Itachi.” 

“You might like Sai if you give him a chance. I do.”

“Great.”

“It can work. I never believed it could be better for me. My only hope of redemption was you. Making you powerful, turning you into the village hero who finally killed me and righted all the wrongs of the Uchiha Clan—that was the only path I could see. Naruto convinced me there was another way. That this—the two of us returning to the village—could work.”

“Naruto’s an idiot, but I guess in this one instance he was smarter than you.”

“Then you—“

“It’s better to try it his way than to go with your dumb plan.”

“Well, if you think of a smarter one, let me know.”

“I will.”

“After all, I have nothing but faith in a shinobi whose strategy was to give his body to a vile, regenerating monster with a thing for corpses.”

“Shut up. I was never going to let him have my body.”

“Of course not. And that curse mark is just for show.”

“Didn’t I tell you to go to sleep, already?”

“It’s interesting that you suddenly think you can boss me around, little brother.”

“You’re such a jerk.”

“Minato can remove it safely. My plan was to cut it out of you, but that won’t be necessary.” 

“But I died to change my body permanently. It can’t be removed.” 

Sasuke’s conjecture showed a poor understanding of the founding principles of sealing jutsu. Minato wondered what they were teaching at the Academy these days. Of course a comatose state was necessary to facilitate an initial metamorphosis such as the one the curse mark allowed Sasuke to undergo. However, it was obviously not a true death. Minato had already done a great deal of research into the type of jutsu Orochimaru used, and after a good look at Sasuke’s mark, he would be able to justify Itachi’s confidence. 

“All curses can be broken. Don’t worry about it. He’s an expert.” 

“I shouldn’t have gone to Orochimaru. He does things. Hurts people. I’ve been a party to that.”

“I forced your hand.”

“No, it’s—“

“Sasuke. Stop worrying. You were right. We should go to sleep.”

“Fine.”

The Uchiha boys were silent for long enough that Minato believed they had joined the rest of the team in sleep at last. 

“Itachi,” Sasuke whispered, quietly enough that Minato barely caught it on the night wind. 

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

“I love you, too, little brother. Good night.”

“Night.”


	54. Chapter 54

Removing Sasuke’s curse mark was nearly as complicated as the boy had feared. His metamorphosis was on a cellular level and the mark had worked itself deep. Minato probably couldn’t have removed it without the boy’s cooperation, but they did it in stages. First he had the boy transform into his hawk-like state while Minato removed enough of the binding to force him back into his regular body without Sasuke’s will propelling the conversion. After the deeper layer of the curse had been removed, Minato cleared the surface mark and all trace of Orochimaru’s power from the boy. The process took hours and utterly exhausted the boy. Minato left him in the care of Lady Tsunade and Itachi at the hospital while he went for the promised homecoming drink with Jiraiya-sensei. Kakashi joined them. 

Navigating Jiraiya-sensei’s idea of a good time in Leaf Village with Kakashi wasn’t easy. Though the tavern was full of shinobi rather than the types that could be found outside of the village, Jiraiya still flirted shamelessly. Unfortunately, he seemed to want nothing more than to have Minato do the same. Minato needed to politely discourage him while still showing interest in the potential partners so that Kakashi didn’t suspect how consistently Minato was breaking the rules of their relationship. It was a fine line between flirting the way his companions expected him to and not engendering any false hopes. Moreover, he had other things on his mind. Namely Sasuke. 

No one who knew him seemed to be batting an eye at how sour and rude Sasuke was to his friends. Part of his behavior was clearly inherent in his personality, but Minato worried anyway. The curse mark was completely eradicated. Of that he could be sure. What mark it had left on Sasuke’s soul was as yet unknown. 

Jiraiya-sensei pushed another three drinks on Minato in quick succession then shoved him toward a blushing blonde kunoichi about Kakashi’s age. Minato should remember her name. He recalled her promotion to chunin during his tenure as Hokage. She had blushed just as much then, and she hadn’t become a jonin or special jonin during the intervening time. Still, she was very nice. Minato smiled and encouraged a tête-à-tête. He could listen to her funny story about a bungled mission through a swamp, laugh, and ask appropriate questions while worrying about Sasuke. It was less troublesome than keeping Jiraiya-sensei entertained.

The curse mark was designed to give Sasuke intense power and feelings of euphoria when he acted out of anger and hate. He had born it for over a year in the service of one of the most callous shinobi ever to leave Leaf Village. It didn’t take a genius to see what Orochimaru intended or to understand that it had worked, if not completely. Conditioning of that type always worked, and unlike a seal or a jutsu it couldn’t be easily undone. 

Jiraiya-sensei wasn’t completely satisfied with Minato amenably talking to a pretty woman. He kept pressing more drinks onto his former student. Belatedly, it occurred to Minato that he hadn’t had very much to drink at all since his resurrection, or the months prior to his death, for that matter. He had no real tolerance to speak of and quite a bit of alcohol in his system. He wondered where Kakashi had gone. 

The important question, however, was where Sasuke would go. Itachi had—perhaps not unknowingly—done the best possible thing by using Shisui’s eye to command the boy to forgive. Forgiveness was a positive emotion, the polar opposite of the ones the curse mark rewarded Sasuke for feeling, and it had obviously healed the boy to some extent. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell just how much more healing the child needed. Even Lady Tsunade had difficulty with injuries of the mind, as proven by Minato’s own experience. There was no quick trick to repair a wound like the one Orochimaru had given Sasuke. Or the one Itachi had given him initially, for that matter. 

Minato needed to speak with Itachi at the very least. His talk with his brother the night before had been heartwarming, but the young man needed to be prepared for a less reasonable Sasuke to make an appearance. Abruptly, Minato tried to stand and failed. The pretty chunin caught him, laughing. 

“All right there, Lord Hokage?”

“I’m not the Hokage anymore,” he said unsteadily. “It’s time for me to go, I think.” 

“A bit too much to drink?” she asked kindly.

He nodded and pulled away from her, wobbling on his heels. “I have to,” he stopped, catching a chair and sitting down again before he fell. 

“Say, Minato, you should walk Kotori home before you head out,” Jiraiya-sensei suggested reasonably. “It’s only polite, right Kotori?”

She was even more beautiful when she blushed. Minato mentioned the observation aloud and the red on her cheeks deepened. 

“I would like it very much if you would walk me home, Lord Minato.”

“You’re a chunin and we’re in the village,” he said blankly. “You don’t need anyone to walk you home, and I am very drunk. Very, very drunk. Why did I think this was a good idea?”

“You’re humoring your old teacher,” Jiraiya-sensei reminded him with a laugh. “Humor me one more time and walk Kotori home.”

“I’m sorry, Kotori, but I have to,” he succeeded in standing unaided. “I have other duties.”

“Time to go, Sensei?” Kakashi asked, appearing at his side instantly. 

“Yes,” he said, because Kakashi understood. They couldn’t waste more time here. He needed to speak to Itachi at once. 

“Abandoning me just like that, eh?” Jiraiya-sensei laughed. “I thought we were having fun?”

“You just said I could go,” Minato argued. “I drank all the drinks, Sensei.”

“Yes,” the old sage laughed again, “yes you did. That’s enough for one night, I suppose.” 

Without further argument, Minato and Kakashi were allowed to go. It was pleasant, walking close to Kakashi on a mild evening. Minato didn’t trust himself enough to run or teleport, but that was fine. He needed to talk to Itachi, but it wasn’t an emergency. They could take their time. Enjoy the clear night.

“Stars always take their time,” he observed enviously. 

“You’ll be the one with a hangover tomorrow,” Kakashi said. 

Minato couldn’t disagree. “Do you think it helped him, a little bit?”

“Mm. I’m sure Lord Jiraiya appreciated the distraction, Minato.”

Minato tried to hurry his steps. Luckily, Kakashi caught him readily around the waist. Minato swayed into him, resting a few beats against his warmth before they continued. 

“We’re home,” he observed in surprise.

“Can’t get anything past you, Lord Hokage,” Kakashi said, manhandling him into the house. Clearly he was mistaking Minato’s hesitance for drunkenness. It was possible that Minato had failed to properly elucidate his plan to speak with Sasuke’s older brother as soon as possible. 

“I want to go to the Uchiha Compound,” he said, as Kakashi removed his shoes for him like a child. 

“We’ll go tomorrow,” his former student said condescendingly. 

“I want Itachi now,” Minato complained. 

Kakashi stilled for a moment, but then he began pulling off his facemask and gloves, a clear indication that he had no intention of leaving the house. “What kind of friend would I be if I let you go wake him up drunk two hours before dawn?”

That was a fair point. Itachi was probably asleep right now. Sleeping peacefully, ignorant of what landmines might await him in the morning. “I’m going,” Minato concluded. 

Kakashi caught his arm gently. “You can have me,” he murmured, his lips brushing against Minato’s ear, “if you stay.” Kakashi nipped Minato’s earlobe, tugging at it a little like a playful dog, catching at Minato’s interest. His body was so warm. 

“No.” Minato pushed him away, staggering a little in his drunken state. 

“Minato.” There was nothing playful about Kakashi’s voice anymore. “Not this way.” 

Minato blinked at him. He was confused. Kakashi seemed very serious, like something dire might come of Minato waking Itachi at this hour, when the only consequences Minato could see came of him failing to warn the young man in time. Generally, there was only one reason for him to be confused by Kakashi. He mentally ran through his checklist. “If there is a rule here that I’m breaking you should tell me.” Minato couldn’t imagine what it was. Refusal had to be allowed. “Never mind. I don’t care. I obey all of your other inane rules; if you’re going to stop sleeping with me just because—“ Minato didn’t want to continue. He didn’t fully understand his situation, but he knew that digging deeper could only lead to trouble.

“You need to talk to Itachi,” Kakashi said. He didn’t look angry. Of course Kakashi had been able to school his features blank long before he and Minato met. 

“Yes. I do. Even if—not that I want—yes.” 

“Why is it so important that you to talk to Itachi two hours before dawn when you’re too drunk to walk straight?” 

“Because I should have done it today, but I didn’t want to in front of the boy. Then Jiraiya-sensei claimed me and I didn’t get a chance, but Itachi needs to be warned.”

“That having removed the curse mark does not necessarily negate the effects the curse mark had on Sasuke during the time he bore it.” 

“Exactly!” Minato knew Kakashi would understand. 

“I’m so sorry, Sensei. You’ve been worrying all night, haven’t you?” 

“There are bound to be pitfalls. Places where Itachi’s command to forgive does not override the conditioned anger. He needs to be prepared for that—all of Sasuke’s friends do.” 

“He knows, Minato. We spent the entire time you were working with Sasuke discussing it with Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. Everyone is prepared for violence. Everyone knows not to leave him alone for long.” 

“Oh.”

“What did you think we were doing all day?” 

“I hoped you were resting after a long, hurried journey and a hard fight.” 

“Ignoring the fact that you fought harder than the rest of us combined and spent nine hours weaving a jutsu no one else in the village could even dream of attempting?” 

“Resting is good; you were wounded.” 

“Yes, resting is good. Let’s get you to bed.” 

Kakashi’s arm around Minato’s waist was warm. “You don’t have to take care of me. I’m only drunk.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Kakashi said, herding Minato into the bathroom. “Be sure to brush your teeth.” 

When Minato stumbled out, relatively clean and ready for bed, Kakashi was waiting with a glass of water. Minato conceded defeat and drank it. “You’re treating me like a child.” 

“Wouldn’t want that,” Kakashi agreed, pulling Minato close and kissing him deeply. 

Minato couldn’t help grinning sleepily up at his friend. “Will you tell me the rule I broke earlier?”

“Because you really are tired, but you don’t want to upset me again?” Kakashi softened the words with a smile. “No rule. No rule against me taking advantage of a drunk, either, even if it’s your kind nature and not personal indulgence that made you this way. I wasn’t the one who told you about rules in the first place, anyway.” Kakashi pushed him gently toward his bedroom. 

“Mm. That was Jiraiya-sensei, but you could have. I don’t really know how these things work.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t really have any rules.” 

“Of course you do. I verified them all by observation.”

“Hmm. Allow me to guess. ‘Don’t let Naruto or anyone else find out about us.’ Something along the lines of, ‘Never appear jealous.’ Probably ‘No dates or romantic gestures.’ Am I missing anything?”

“Don’t have expectations,” Minato reminded him, crawling into bed. “Will you stay with me? Please? I sleep better when you’re warm.”

“Always,” Kakashi said, slipping in behind him. Minato squirmed gracelessly until they achieved a satisfactory embrace. “Those words, that last rule,” Kakashi added after a moment, “I was the one to say it, not Jiraiya.” 

“I won’t forget,” Minato promised. 

“That isn’t what I meant. You called the rules inane. Minato, do you want—?”

“What?”

“If you could have anything, what would you want?”

Minato thought for a long moment. “I wish I really could heal the boy completely and give him back to Naruto whole and unharmed by his experiences.” 

“Of course you do,” Kakashi sighed. Minato had a feeling he’d given the wrong answer.

“What would you want?” 

“Obito and Rin back.” 

“Oh. That’s, of course. If I had never failed the night the masked Madara attacked I could have saved everyone so much pain. Of course that should have been my wish.”

“Sensei, I didn’t mean—it’s good that you don’t live in the past the way I do.”

“I’m pretty drunk, Kakashi.”

“And I’m not making much sense. When you wished to heal Sasuke, I could hardly wish for something more selfish than the return of my friends.”

“Oh. But then what do you want?”

“To have this conversation when you’re sober, it turns out.” 

“Then we can go to sleep now?”

Kakashi twisted his neck to press a gentle kiss against Minato’s lips. “Good night, Minato.” 

Minato grinned and greedily snuggled a little closer. “Good night.”


	55. Chapter 55

Minato woke briefly when Kakashi left him. As expected, his head hurt and he felt dehydrated. Kakashi brushed his temple with gentle fingers. “Sleep a little more, if you can,” he murmured sweetly. Minato offered him the best smile he could manage under the circumstances, and followed the suggestion.

It was so cold inside the reaper. Minato was so cold. The darkness had claws. And fangs. And shuriken. He dodged and hid and hit and ran, but he couldn’t escape or evade the cold. It permeated everything. “Well, you didn’t think I’d hang around forever, did you?” Kakashi’s voice asked. 

Minato woke, panting for breath. His head ached and he felt queasy, but the room was too dark. Jerking the curtains open stabbed his eyes through with sunlight, but it illuminated the reality of his room well enough. He took a deep breath and mastered himself, pulled on his clothes, and, ignoring his discomfort, went to start his day.

He was immediately rewarded for his constancy. “Hi dad! We’re making you breakfast!” Naruto greeted him exuberantly. He was covered in white flour and waving a dripping spoon happily. 

“I see,” Minato said, manfully not wincing at his son’s emphatic voice. “What are you making? Fried Naruto?” 

Kakashi ruffled Naruto’s messy blonde hair, sending up an adorable cloud of white flour. “There were a few bumps in the road,” he admitted. Unlike the rambunctious boy, Kakashi’s voice was low and soothing. Even his smirk was endearing. Watching the two of them smiling together twisted Minato’s heart, especially when Naruto batted Kakashi’s hands away and grabbed the spatula from him. 

“We’re making pancakes, Dad! It’s Kakashi-sensei’s secret family recipe for banana pancakes, you know!” 

“Secret family recipe, eh?” 

“Maybe not,” Kakashi admitted, reclaiming the spatula effortlessly, “but they’re good. They’ll make you feel better.”

“Eh? Do you feel bad, Dad?”

“Naruto, as you make your way in the world, you may wish to bear my example in mind.”

“Huh?”

“Never go drinking with Master Jiraiya.”

“You went drinking? You never do stuff like that!”

“That is because the key to happiness in all things is moderation,” Minato said, taking a long drink of the tea Kakashi handed him. “The three prohibitions for shinobi are women, alcohol, and money, but it is only seeking these things to excesses that creates a problem. Having a few drinks with Gamabunta is fine. Drinking with Jiraiya-sensei is poisoning the body and should be avoided at all costs.” 

Kakashi laughed lightly, flipping the pancakes on the griddle. 

“Then why did you go with, Dad?” 

“Because it made him happy.”

“Pervy Sage can take care of his own happiness. You should worry more about yourself, you know!” 

Naruto stopped spooning batter onto the griddle and looked up abruptly. He returned to his task with an incredibly transparent façade of indifference. “So, you know, Pervy Sage always goes out with lots of pretty women, you know, but if you were here in the village they must have been shinobi who live here, right?”

“Yes.” Minato supposed he was lucky to have avoided the subject for as long as they had. Naruto’s intentions were very clear. 

“So, ah, so, ah, did you meet anyone pretty?”

“I suppose. As you say, Jiraiya-sensei rarely goes drinking where pretty women cannot be found.”

“Yeah, but, um, did you, you know, like anyone? Like, did you meet anyone you might want to go on a date with?”

“Naruto, I’m sorry. I know what your mother told you, but I still don’t think I’m quite ready for anything like that.”

Naruto was a shinobi, but he was also completely incapable of hiding his emotions. Dejection and disappointment bent him practically in half, but he bounced back just as quickly. “Well, tell me when you’re ready!”

“Giving up just like that Naruto?” Kakashi asked. 

Minato felt a foreboding chill at his back. Last night he’d fallen into drunken slumber believing everything was fine, but in the light of morning it was obvious how foolish that was. While it wasn’t in violation of any of Jiraiya-sensei’s guidelines, Minato was fairly certain that expressing dissatisfaction with their arrangement would be enough for Kakashi to call it off. Doing so subtly and in front of Naruto would save any possibly messy emotional scenes. 

“What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?”

“I’m pretty sure that there was someone last night who Minato would go on a date with, actually, but it’s your job to encourage him.” 

“Really? Really, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Really.”

“Well who is it? Tell me! Please!” 

“Are you sure you want to know? It isn’t who you’re expecting.” 

Minato wondered whom exactly Kakashi thought Naruto expected him to date and why Kotori wouldn’t fit the bill. It was too early in the morning, and his head hurt far too much to deal with being pressured into a relationship he didn’t want. Minato drank his tea and waited to see where the chips would fall. 

“It doesn’t matter who it is, Kakashi-sensei! Just tell me who it is!” 

“Little confused there, eh?”

“There isn’t really someone he likes, is there? You’re just going to make a perverted joke.”

“I suspect that he really likes someone, and you’ll hurt his feelings by calling it perverted.” 

“Then tell me!”

“Are you sure you want to know?” 

“Yes! I don’t care if it’s Pakkun, just tell me already!” 

“Not Pakkun, but you’re close.” 

“Eh? How can Pakkun be close? Is it Kiba?” 

“No.” 

“Sensei! Tell me!” 

“Me.” 

Time stopped. Minato couldn’t breathe. Kakashi’s eye slid away from Naruto to glance at him. Minato didn’t know what he would read in his face. He didn’t know how much of a reaction he was showing. He didn’t know how he was reacting. Did Kakashi want to go on a date? There didn’t seem to be any other reason to encourage Naruto in that direction. Surely Kakashi would simply ask Minato if he wanted something more than their current arrangement. He couldn’t imagine there was anything Minato would refuse him. But if that was the case, there was no reason to manipulate Naruto. 

“Eh! Don’t mess with me, Kakashi-sensei!” 

“That’s right, Kakashi. This is an important mission given to Naruto by his mother. You can’t tell him to push me toward someone who wouldn’t be interested in that sort of relationship.” 

“Dad?”

“Who says I’m not interested?” Kakashi flipped the last pancakes off the griddle and on to the three waiting plates. “Breakfast is ready.” 

Minato’s head ached. Minato’s heart ached. “Then you want to—date me?” 

“Well, you’re quite the catch, Lord Fourth Hokage,” Kakashi said, passing him a stack of pancakes. 

“You want to date my dad?”

“I’ll be good for him, I promise. We’ll have lots of fun and I won’t let him be hurt, so give it a chance. Eh, Naruto?” 

“Um, sure. I guess. I mean, if you want to Dad?” 

Minato didn’t know how to answer the question. It was as though a dangerous fire had been sealed away only to reveal the deadly cold it had been keeping at bay. Really being with Kakashi had never felt like an option. He took a robotic bite of his pancakes, stalling. 

“I’m not sure that would be entirely in keeping with the spirit of Naruto’s mission. I believe Kushina had the idea that I would meet someone to settle down with.” 

Kakashi shrugged idly. “We live together and I discipline your kid more often than you do. I’m not sure how much more settled you want to be, but I suppose I’m game for whatever.” 

A gaping stare was probably not the response Kakashi most hoped for to whatever this confession was, but he really shouldn’t have brought the matter up over breakfast while Minato was hung over. Minato couldn’t think. None of this seemed possible. “I was under the impression that you were in love once, and having been so, did not believe you would fall again.” 

It was hypocritical, of course, after the progress of his own feelings, but Minato had never declared himself the way Kakashi had. Now, he desperately needed to hear that declaration again. 

“True,” Kakashi said, complacently taking a bite of his breakfast. “It’s as I said then. The man that I loved was in love with another; he died. But, Minato—“ 

Too slow. Minato was too slow. He couldn’t hear this. He absolutely could not hear this. With all the speed of the Yellow Flash, Minato teleported as far away from the danger as he could manage. It didn’t stop the last part of Kakashi’s sentence from echoing in his ears. 

“—He came back.” 

Throughout his childhood Minato had been praised for his speed. Even before he learned to teleport, long before he developed the Flying Thunder God, he had always been the fastest. More than that, he was always praised for running toward an enemy. What speed he had was to dodge while striking, to evade and defend, and not to run away. Minato never ran away. 

He couldn’t teleport past the edge of the village. He had no markers and no areas he knew well enough without them. That didn’t matter. He had legs. Minato ran barefoot, leaping from treetop to treetop, faster and faster. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t faster than the speed of sound. He wasn’t faster than the speed of thought. A realization, once made, couldn’t be outrun. 

Kakashi loved him. 

That shouldn’t terrify him more than anything in his life ever had. He loved Kakashi. To be loved in return should make him happy. He remembered that sort of happiness. Why should he try to outrun it? Could he outrun it if he only ran faster? He was behaving like a child he had never been. Running away from an uncertain responsibility. Kakashi deserved an answer. At least from his friend and his former teacher, if not from his lover—Kakashi had the right to expect that much. 

But what else would Kakashi expect? If Kakashi had truly fallen in love with him when he was younger, then he had fallen for his teacher, or at least the Fourth Hokage. He had fallen for a man who could be depended upon. A man of whom one could have expectations. Minato was not that man anymore. If Kakashi came to count on Minato the way Kushina had—well, that could not be allowed. 

Relying on himself, Kakashi had come far enough. Kakashi was strong on his own, just as Kushina had been. Minato’s love—Minato’s child—had killed her. While he could never regret Naruto’s existence, a part of him regretted troubling Kushina in the first place. If she had never put her faith in Minato, the Red Hot Habanera would never have been overcome. Not by anything. Minato couldn’t let the same thing happen to Kakashi. 

Minato could run. He would run fast away before he could fail Kakashi. His new love would be safe as long as he never came to rely on Minato, and he should hardly do that if Minato was gone. Minato ran. Faster and further than he ever had in his life, he ran. With the wings of fear lifting his feet, he ran. He ran, and he ran, and he ran. Until he stopped. 

Slowly, Minato turned and began walking back to the village. Leaving the village meant leaving Naruto. He couldn’t do that. There would have to be another way.


	56. Chapter 56

Minato walked back toward the village. He was resolved, but he wasn’t in a hurry to face Kakashi. He needed time to reconcile his feelings. Ideally, he would be able to come to terms with reality and avoid hurting Kakashi any more than he already had. Naturally his friend met him after only a few miles. 

Kakashi’s hands were in his pockets and he seemed to be enjoying a late afternoon saunter through the woods with Pakkun. Minato was willing to bet a great deal that Pakkun had been racing after his trail until they sensed his approach. He didn’t know what to say. Probably it would be best to open with an apology for worrying Kakashi, but he couldn’t find the words for even an awkward greeting. The two men stood silently watching one another, maintaining a wary distance. Minato looked away first. All he could see was the masked Uchiha.

“Is your left foot still bleeding?” Kakashi asked finally. 

“What?”

“You cut it on a rock about five miles back. It’s on the bottom of your foot so it didn’t close up while you were running. While I appreciate how easy it made tracking you, the blood here is about two hours old, and if you haven’t wrapped it yet then you’re forgetting all of those lectures you used to give about infection.” 

Taking a seat on a fallen tree trunk, Minato inspected the bottom of his foot. There was, in fact, a nasty looking cut across his heel. Obviously it hadn’t been able to close properly while he was walking on it, and it was seeping as well as dotted with blood. Only Minato still couldn’t really feel the pain he knew was there. It was all he could do not to leap up when Kakashi approached. 

Thankfully his former student didn’t try to touch him, just placed his canteen, antiseptic, and a roll of white gauze about a foot away from Minato’s position. Kakashi even backed up a safe distance after offering the items, so Minato could treat the injury with the attention it deserved. He cleaned and wrapped it carefully, taking far more time than he actually needed to do so. Once he was finished, someone would have to speak again.

“You were heading back to the village?” Kakashi asked at last, when even Minato couldn’t pretend to be doing anything but toying with the unused gauze. 

“Yes.”

“You should wear my boots.” 

“Don’t be silly. I was stupid enough to leave the house barefoot, so I can walk home barefoot.”

“You’re injured.” There was force in Kakashi’s voice. A tightly controlled anger that made Minato flinch was etched deep in the eye he couldn’t meet. 

“I’m fine. Thank you for the bandages, but I’m fine.” Because Minato had left without a tack vest and supplies as well. 

“I’ll walk with you.” 

It wasn’t a question, so Minato didn’t bother answering. They walked. Kakashi was careful to keep a consistent distance between them. Not talking didn’t actually make thinking about his problem any easier in Kakashi’s presence. Having Kakashi walking with him only made Minato maudlin. He could have gone on happily living with Kakashi, loving Kakashi, being with Kakashi, if only Kakashi hadn’t returned the feeling. If only Kakashi hadn’t suddenly become so dangerous. 

Minato realized distantly that he wasn’t being logical or fair. Kakashi was still Kakashi. He deserved better than the difficulties of Minato’s fractured psyche. He deserved something for what Minato had already put him through and even more for what would inevitably be coming. Minato watched the sun between the trees as it sank into the horizon. For all his mastery of space-time ninjutsu, Minato couldn’t turn back a clock. Kakashi deserved a little truth. 

“I do love you, you know,” he offered softly. Judging from Kakashi’s abrupt stop he had not actually been aware of that fact, but he started walking again easily. 

“As a friend and former student,” he agreed casually. “Yes, I know.” 

“No. I love a kind and powerful shinobi with skin as soft as moonlight. I love you Kakashi and I ache with it, I do, but I can't be loved by you. I can't. Don't put your faith in me. I'm too weak to bear it.” Minato would have continued. Kakashi deserved an explanation and Minato was determined to give it, but he felt warmth at his wrist. Looking down and the chain he wore, he saw that the activated link corresponded to Naruto's necklace. There was no time. There was no turning back a clock. Minato grabbed Kakashi and teleported them both to Naruto's side at once.

Naruto was standing in the garden staring angrily down at his broken necklace, but his face cleared when he looked up at his father. Minato couldn't see any enemies in the long twilight shadows, but he crouched in front of his son scanning the area. "Sorry, Dad. It was an accident. I dropped it.”

The chain was snapped cleanly with a few links scattered in a half circle at Naruto’s feet. The little frog charm had bounced far enough away that Minato was not uncomfortably close to the boy. In other words, the necklace had broken exactly as it should have if Naruto jerked it from around his throat in one fluid movement. Considering that Minato’s breakdown had come in the morning, he understood why Naruto would call for him at sunset.

“I’ll make you another tomorrow,” he promised. 

“Exactly what you’d expect from Leaf Village’s Number One Knucklehead,” Kakashi observed, giving them both space. “I was, in fact, having a pretty important talk with your father. If you don’t mind, I’d like to continue it now.” 

“I think you’ve said enough to Dad today.” Naruto scowled angrily at Kakashi. “Come on, Dad. Let’s go inside.”

“Naruto, Kakashi and I do need to talk.”

“Fine.” Naruto’s scowl deepened, then it disappeared abruptly. He grinned and wrapped his arms around his father carefully. Minato returned the hug. “Thanks for coming, even though I didn’t really need you to.” 

Minato squeezed the boy’s shoulders. “Sorry I worried you.” 

Naruto didn’t say anything; he just nodded and scampered into the house, leaving Minato to scrape his courage together enough to talk with Kakashi. Naturally, it took him a few minutes. He still couldn’t look up without seeing the Uchiha. The fox.

“You were saying that you loved me,” Kakashi reminded him helpfully, “but the fact that I love you makes you tear off like all the devils of hell are chasing you, because—“ 

“Kakashi—I’m not the man you think I am.” 

“You are Minato Namikaze, Naruto’s father, and my friend.” 

“Yes, but that is all I am. That’s all that’s left. I’m not your teacher. I’m not the Fourth Hokage. I’m weak.” He tried to meet Kakashi’s eye, but Kushina filled his vision. Pale and stinking of death, blood trickled down the corner of her mouth. “Don’t trust me. I can’t be trusted.”

“Because the man I fell in love with could stop my chidori with one hand and defeat an enemy shinobi with the other, but you can’t protect me anymore.” 

“You’ll die,” Minato whispered. He couldn’t even shut his eyes against the images. Kakashi taking a more serious wound in the fight with Orochimaru. Kakashi fighting the Masked Uchiha. Kakashi being eaten by the Fox. 

“I might. There is my duty to the village, and I think both of us would choose Naruto in a pinch.” 

Kakashi clearly didn’t understand. He couldn’t see Minato’s hand picked ANBU fall. He hadn’t watched Kushina die. “You’ll trust me.”

“No, I won’t.” 

Astonished, Minato opened his eyes. Kakashi was smiling softly. “I’ve been waiting for you to attack me since you came back, you know,” he added casually. “The Fifth had you pegged as traumatic from the first. We agreed that I would keep an eye on you. That’s why I was so insistent about living together. It’s been a boon that you haven’t lashed out at me or Naruto when you have an episode, but it isn’t something I count on.”

Minato stared. He wouldn’t let Kakashi lie to him. “I’m not a mission.” 

“Of course not, but Tsunade wanted to hospitalize you. You weren’t being rational and you weren’t being yourself, either. I volunteered to look after you instead. She didn’t think I could handle it and sent me away. Then she wasn’t sure that she could handle you, so she sent you away. In the end, she agreed to do it my way.”

Perhaps it had been a good stopgap, in the beginning, but Minato didn’t think sleeping with him had been part of Lady Tsunade’s recommended regimen. 

“Trauma is tricky, and Tsunade says yours is the worst case she’s ever seen. She doesn’t expect you to ever make a full recovery. Which is why I should know better than to surprise you first thing in the morning when you haven’t had your tea, especially if I let you sleep alone. I do know better than to wake you with a touch or move suddenly after you shiver.” Kakashi was willing to leave the village with Minato out of loyalty, and perhaps out of a desire to keep innocents safe. “I know you can’t protect me, Minato. It’s enough—it’s more than enough—that you ran away because you want to.” 

Minato rushed him, teleporting one of the special kunai from his room to his hand easily. Kakashi caught the weapon as Minato swung it, disarming him instantly. “That’s hardly trying, Sensei,” Kakashi chided, trading a few quick blows. “If you really meant to hurt me, you would have thrown that.” Minato let Kakashi trip him and pin him to the ground, but he kept one hand free. One unsteady hand to pull Kakashi’s mask down so that Minato could arch up and kiss him. 

“Promise me,” he breathed. The world felt like it might fly apart, but Kakashi weighed enough. He leaned down to pin Minato more securely with a deeper kiss. 

“I won’t let you fail me, Minato.” Kakashi kissed him again and both of Minato’s hands were freed to grab at strong shoulders. “I’ll protect you. Even if I can only protect you from that.”

“I do love you,” he admitted. His hands were still shaking. He was trembling all over. He needed.

He needed Kakashi to not pull away. “Go for ramen,” Kakashi suggested, because Naruto was still watching them, hidden just inside the house. Minato tried to master himself. 

“Right,” Naruto said, stepping out of the shadows. “You’ll be okay this time, Dad?” 

Minato managed a smile—a real one—for his son. He also forced the tremors to subside. “I’m fine Naruto. Sorry for worrying you, and sorry for ruining your special breakfast. You don’t need to go for ramen; I’ll make supper if you’re hungry.” 

“Adults are weird.” Naruto scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I think this is probably what Mom wanted me to help you with, but I don’t really get it and Kakashi-sensei isn’t even a girl, you know. So I’m gonna see if that jerk Sasuke wants to get some ramen with me and trust that Kakashi-sensei won’t screw up again.” 

“Thank you, Naruto, for that vote of confidence.” Kakashi was once again wearing his facemask. It didn’t make him distant, though, just Kakashi. 

Minato put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I really am sorry. Won’t you forgive me and stay?”

“Do you want me to? Pervy Sage always wants me to leave when he thinks he has a chance to do something perverted and I’m pretty sure Kakashi-sensei’s going to let you—“

“Naruto! No one is going to do anything perverted. Go wash up for dinner!” Minato pushed his son into the house and took a deep breath before following him. 

“Better?” Kakashi brushed a warm hand on the small of Minato’s back. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. 

“I’ll try to warn you the next time I start panicking.” 

Kakashi grinned. “I don’t care about that, but you weren’t serious about no one doing anything perverted, were you?” 

Minato rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly perverted if we’re in love, but I think we can manage to keep our hands to ourselves during dinner.”


	57. Chapter 57

Kakashi and Naruto both understood more than Minato had hoped about the difficulties he continued to have. They would have given him space if he knew how to ask for it, but he had never been skilled at making personal requests. Instead, he made small excuses and found his family wherever he turned, unhelpfully offering support. When Minato stepped out for a little morning air he saw an unknown shinobi waiting a respectful distance from the front door. Minato recognized her brown eyes and round face. She was Kakashi’s generation, though she had been a little behind him in terms of skill.

“Anko, isn’t it? Good morning.”

“Yes, Lord Fourth Hokage, sir. Good morning.” She dropped to a respectful crouch. 

“Are you looking for Kakashi? I can fetch him for you, if you like.” 

“Thank you, no. I was hoping to see you, sir.” 

“Ah. What can I help you with?”

The jonin pressed her forehead to the dirt of the road in the lowest possible bow. “Please remove my curse mark, Lord Fourth. I heard you were able to help Sasuke Uchiha. The Third Lord said his mark was the same type as mine, though the Third Hokage was able to keep mine suppressed through his kindness.”

Minato blinked. “Won’t you please come inside?”

Anko grinned gratefully and bounced to her feet, following Minato into the house. “Thank you, sir.” 

At their entrance, Kakashi looked up from where he was reading in the window. “I thought you were going for a walk?”

“Dad!” Naruto came bouncing into the living room to greet him. “Eh! What’s she doing here?” Pointing comically at Anko, he nearly fell over. 

“Oh, do you know each other?” 

“She’s the scary proctor from my chunin exam!” 

Faced with the accusation, Anko morphed from an earnest supplicant to a mischievous jonin. “You survived, didn’t you, Naruto-my-lad? Not everyone did that year?” Miming the slitting of a throat, Anko drew a slow fingernail across the tender skin of her own neck.

Naruto shuddered. “You’re so creepy.”

“The Hokage can’t help you today,” Kakashi drawled, turning back to his book. 

“What’s that, Kakashi?” Anko’s smile turned from mysterious to dangerous.

“Removing Sasuke’s curse mark took a lot of work on Minato’s part. Sort of a marathon jutsu. It made him sick. He needs to rest for a couple of days before doing that again.” 

Considering that the natural exhaustion after performing a difficult jutsu had been compounded by a late night with Jiraiya-sensei, bad sleep, and a complicated disagreement with Kakashi, Minato could see the point. He even appreciated Kakashi’s desire to take care of him, since he’d admitted only the day before that he still needed it. However, he wasn’t about to let someone else speak for him when it came to helping a shinobi of the village. “He’s exaggerating. Sit down and let me take a look.” 

“Dad? What’s going on?”

“Ah, Naruto, why don’t you do a little training in the garden? Miss Anko has a curse mark like Sasuke’s that I need to concentrate on removing. Is it positioned delicately? Would you like Kakashi to leave as well? We could find a woman to assist if that would make you feel more comfortable. A quiet woman. Perhaps Miss Shizune would be willing.” 

“Lord Fourth Hokage,” Anko said, somewhere between an entreating petitioner and a mocking instructor—a serious Leaf jonin at last. “I would not have you take a risk for me. I have lived for years with this mark. I can continue to bear it until you feel well.”

“I’ll manage.” He offered her his most reassuring smile. Clearly it worked, because her face softened in response. Minato noticed that Kakashi rolled his eye as he closed his book, but he grabbed Naruto by the arm and pulled him toward the garden. 

“I’m going to teach your son dirty jokes,” the Copy Ninja threatened. “One a day until you start taking proper care of yourself.”

“That’s fine. As long as you don’t mind me telling him embarrassing stories about your childhood every time you try to make me prioritize my own issues over helping a comrade in need.” 

“Touché.” 

Naruto rolled his eyes. “You’re both so dumb. Compromise, you know! Dad, only help one person today! If Pervy Sage wants to keep you up all night drinking after doing the jutsu, you have to say no.” 

“That’s a promise.” Minato grinned at his son and Naruto’s answering smile was bright enough to light the whole village. Even Kakashi caught the good mood. On his way outside, the fake smile became an honest one. 

Anko repeated her demurral even as she tugged her shirt out of the way to reveal the cursed seal on her neck. Minato politely ignored her. If her hesitance was only for his sake, he didn’t see any reason to give it consequence. Orochimaru lived. Leaving him a foothold in the village as large as a curse mark, suppressed or not, was foolish. Minato couldn’t understand why the Third hadn’t looked into removing it. The concept was by no means beyond him, though of course it required studying the Uzumaki techniques a great deal. Still, Minato would have expected it of the old Professor. 

Old Hiruzen had died holding out hope that his student could be redeemed, then. Hope that Orochimaru wouldn’t betray his own student, Anko, any more than he already had. Minato could understand that. Surely Kakashi felt the same way about Sasuke. But to refuse to treat the symptoms was a willful blindness that left the village open to Orochimaru’s attack. Perhaps no one was ever beyond all hope of redemption, but in some cases it was better to anticipate the worst. 

Anticipating the worst often led to pleasant surprises, after all. Anko had never allowed her curse mark to have a hold over her the way Sasuke’s had. There was no second stage. While the seal was seared into the deepest levels of her cellular structure, it had never been used. Unlike Sasuke, Anko had never given the curse a foothold into her psyche. With Hiruzen’s assistance in blocking it whenever Orochimaru tried to use the mark against her, the seal remained a separate, foreign malignancy to her system. 

After the long toil of removing Sasuke’s similar but much more complicated curse mark, removing Anko’s was the work of a few short hours. At first, she seemed almost shocked to be finally rid of the curse, but she quickly turned effusive in her gratitude. 

“It’s really gone? He isn’t connected to me at all anymore?” She leapt into his arms and squeezed him with alarming strength. Minato couldn’t believe she still had that kind of vigor.

“Carefully now, you might want to rest after all of that work.” 

“Plenty of my chakra was used,” Anko laughed, “but you were the only one doing work, Lord Minato. Careful, hah! I’ve never felt this carefree!” 

“All done in here?” Kakashi wasn’t trailing Naruto when he came inside; Minato assumed that he’d gone to train with his friends. 

“We were successful.”

“Successful? I feel great! Wanna fight, Kakashi? It’s been _years_ since I could cut loose.”

“Pass.”

“Really? Bet I can convince you. Thank you so much, Lord Minato,” Anko gushed, darting forward and throwing her arms around him once more. Minato didn’t realize until she was inches from his face that she was going for more than a hug this time. 

“You’re very welcome,” he said, breaking her hold and nimbly dodging the kiss. “I’m happy I could help.”

The highly trained kunoichi’s eyes darted to Kakashi and Minato could see her coming to a conclusion. “Crap on a cracker! Did something actually happen between you two? Outside of your perverted little stalker brain, I mean, Kakashi?” 

“Fine,” Kakashi said, his eye narrowing. “I’ll fight you.”

Anko laughed. “Oh man, Lord Hokage, you don’t even know! All of his wet dreams used to be about you. I caught him jerking off with something of yours _twice_ before he made jonin. What was that again, Kakashi? A t-shirt or something. Of course that’s nothing compared to the way he made love when I—” 

Kakashi grabbed the brunette’s arm and twisted. “I said I’d fight you.” 

Anko chuckled. There was something dark in her eyes and no space left in the room for Minato. “Then catch me,” she teased, teleporting away in a swirl of leaves. 

Of course Kakashi chased her. Left to wonder what exactly had provoked Kakashi so completely, Minato boiled some water for tea. When Kakashi had mentioned Anko while giving his excessive and unnecessarily detailed sexual history all he had said was “never again.” Clearly something had happened that Kakashi couldn’t risk repeating. Minato had assumed it was something he hadn’t enjoyed, but life was rarely simple. 

The question—the only important question—was how much Minato had truly affected Kakashi’s sexual development. While it wasn’t very uncommon for a student to start a relationship with a former teacher in the village—if more than a year or two had passed no one blinked an eye—Minato had always seen a level of moral dubiousness in such connections. Influence exercised by a person with power to control another’s desires must always be abhorrent. If Kakashi had loved him since he was a student as he had declared the night before, well, there was a question. 

“I won.” Kakashi’s right sleeve was torn down the seam, but he didn’t have any visible wounds. That wasn’t surprising. Anko’s chakra had been depleted well before she issued the challenge and Kakashi could probably beat her at her best. 

“I don’t want to fight.”

“Good. You look exhausted.”

“Kakashi, I have to ask.” 

“I know.”

“When she transformed into me—“ 

“I didn’t ask her to, I swear. Maybe I let her catch me once with a stolen t-shirt when we’d just hit puberty, but that was because I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. I couldn’t confess feelings for a man to Asuma or Guy, not when I didn’t understand myself, and Rin had too many feelings for me. That was as far as it went, though. I just let her find out I wanted you. I needed her to tell me it was okay, and she did.” 

“And then the two of you—?”

“No, not then.” 

Minato practically collapsed in relief. Kakashi blinked and continued.

“It was a year after you died. To the day, in fact. I wasn’t at my best. Guy wasn’t around and I needed someone to fight. It was pretty violent. I’m not sure how we ended up kissing, but we did. It was still pretty violent. Things were pretty well underway before she decided to comfort me.” 

“I see. So she didn’t—it was very clear that she wasn’t me—and you would have been nearly eighteen. That couldn’t have been your first time.” 

“No,” Kakashi said more confidently. “She wasn’t anything like you. Anko’s a friend, but she’s never been gentle with anything in her life. She wanted to push me around and she knew I’d roll over for you.” 

“Right. Good. That’s good. Kakashi, did I ever—“ 

“Lead me on by being ecstatically married to a woman who was my polar opposite in every way? No, Sensei, you never influenced me in any inappropriate ways; any immorality was on my end.” 

“Then I’m sure there was no immorality.” 

“Anko wasn’t actually lying. I stole dozens of your shirts. I wanted to smell you when I touched myself.” 

“I’m impressed I never caught you. It must have been good practice.” 

“It doesn’t bother you that you’ve been my go-to fantasy for years?”

“No.” Actually, Minato was flattered. He wasn’t sure how to say so precisely, but he rather liked the idea of Kakashi thinking of him while he was away and feeling something other than sadness.

“Part of that was how safe you were to love. You were married; you were dead. I could never approach you; I couldn’t lose you again. Of course, mostly I just hit puberty while constantly watching you _move_ the way you do. I have yet to see anything in my life as sexy as the time we went swimming after that picknic and you fought a giant eel barehanded while you were practically naked.”

“I was wearing swimming trunks.”

“I still spent hours fingering myself when we finally came home. Keeping myself on the edge and pretending it was an order from my Hokage.”

Minato couldn’t take it anymore. “I don’t expect Naruto will be coming home very soon.” 

“Mm. No.”

“I suppose you’re tired after sparring.”

“No, but I know you’re probably exhausted after removing that curse mark.” 

He was. He didn’t want to admit it.

“You should probably just sit back and watch for a while.” 

Like a Fire Ball amplified by Wind Style, all of the air burned out of the room. Only breathless heat remained. “Will you—?”

“Mm. Get myself ready for you Lord Fourth Hokage? I suppose. If you order me.”

Minato found that he cared very little about the potential abuse of his perceived authority after all.


	58. Chapter 58

Protecting his family—protecting anyone completely—was impossible. It was a truth Minato accepted. However, that didn’t mean that keeping his small family safe wasn’t his dearest wish. The first step toward doing that was eliminating the Akatsuki threat to Naruto. That probably wouldn’t be as easy as saving the Uchiha brothers had been, but Minato would do his best. He started with what he did best: research. 

Lady Tsunade kindly allowed Minato to take charge of the information gathering with regard to the Akatsuki. At Itachi’s recommendation, he put teams in the field to seek Akatsuki members as a way to head off their assault. The inside knowledge Itachi had was invaluable, but he speculated that his defection and Sasori’s death would lead the Masked Uchiha to take a more active role in the terrorist organization. Moreover, there was a reason the organization had nine members. While not all of them were necessary to transfer a tailed beast into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it was easiest when there were nine to focus on the transference of chakra. Acting quickly before the Akatsuki had a chance to get back up to full strength was paramount. 

Because finding the Akatsuki before they had the chance to gain new members or capture another Tailed Beast the way they caught Gaara was so important, the information Itachi provided about each member’s personality was even more valuable than what he knew of their jutsu. One of Minato’s teams—the team lead by Asuma Sarutobi, in fact—was able to track down Kakuzu within the first two weeks of his assault. Having the locations of so many extralegal bounty offices and knowing how much the shinobi was motivated by money was very helpful. 

Of course, Minato had specifically given all of his teams orders to follow and not engage, so Shikamaru’s distress signal didn’t bode well for his plans, but it was what he had to work with. In the short time it took Minato to send a message directing any Leaf shinobi in the area to reinforce Asuma’s team and teleport there himself, Shikamaru had clearly been busy. He was sweating profusely, but Naruto’s classmate had Hidan in a shadow possession jutsu. 

“I gave you direct orders not to engage,” Minato grumbled, noting that Asuma and the two other chunin were at least hanging back sensibly while Kakuzu also refrained from fighting. 

“They made us, sir,” Shikamaru said. “It isn’t as though I wouldn’t have preferred a nice lazy recon mission.” 

“Jashin demands sacrifice,” Hidan declared pompously. “Don’t bother running, though. I may have the slowest attack among the Akatsuki, but I always keep service faithfully.”

“Has he gotten anyone’s blood yet?” 

“Not yet,” Asuma said, “but Shikamaru can’t hold him much longer.” 

“This is a waste of time,” Kakuzu complained. “Why are you bothering with a bunch of weak Leaf Ninja who probably aren’t worth a hundred Ryo a piece?”

“Remember the briefing,” Minato cautioned. “Keep him here, but keep your distance and don’t engage if you can avoid it. Shikamaru, on my mark.” 

Answering with serious nods and a “Yes, sir” or two, the Leaf Shinobi justified Minato’s faith. 

“Now, Shikamaru!”

Grabbing Hidan just as Shikamaru released him, Minato teleported the evil zealot to Mount Myoboku. The priest was heavier than expected. Had Minato been changing the field of battle, things could have gotten hairy. Fortunately, Itachi’s information had given him a rare understanding of his opponent’s techniques and abilities. Hidan couldn’t die and if he captured some of your blood his ritual had a one hundred percent kill rate. That was why Shikamaru’s first action upon capturing the Jashin worshipper with his shadow possession jutsu had been to make the shinobi drop his scythe. Minato wasn’t foolish enough to think that leaving the man’s main weapon behind was enough to keep Hidan from getting his blood. 

In the split second that they first touched the stone of the toad mountain, Minato dropped his opponent and flipped backward away, biting his thumb and slamming his hand down to activate the seal. Hidan fell to the ground flat, but he didn’t sink into the stone as he should have. Sealing a person was always difficult, especially a ninja with the sort of enormous chakra required for immortality. Minato was prepared. He activated the second seal. The precise mathematics involved in preparing the seals in advance had been intense, but when it counted, he was able to pour all of his effort into forming the third sealing jutsu, perfectly aligned with the others. Flaring chakra burst up from the black seals as the traditional Uzumaki tri-point technique came into full effect. With a sound not unlike the closing of a door, the immortal priest was sealed into the rock of the holy mountain forever. 

“Well hello there, young Minato,” Fukasaku said, hopping up along the path leading down toward the more populated areas of the toad sanctuary. “You’re back earlier than expected.” 

“Yes, Great Sage.” Minato bowed respectfully to the wizened green toad. “All is well, I hope?”

“Indeed,” the toad croaked, letting his robe fall around him, making him look more like a very small old man than an amphibian. “Everything is just as you left it. Your seals worked?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you again for allowing me the use of this space.”

“Ah, that was the Great Toad Sage’s choice, but you are very welcome for the small part I played in bringing it to his attention.” 

“I do hate to impose, Fukasaku, sir, but if you would perhaps be able to move the statue as we discussed? While I have every faith in the Uzumaki sealing techniques, it is best not to take chances.”

“Absolutely my boy!” The tiny sage lifted a stone frog statue six times Minato’s height with one green foreleg and lowered it carefully over the black seal. Within moments Minato’s work was completely hidden. “Though I do think you’re being overcautious,” he continued, no sign in his voice or bearing that he’d just moved several tons of stone unaided. “It’s a well known fact that living things don’t stay alive for very long once they’ve been sealed away in two dimensions. Now, if you’d sealed him in an animal or a spirit, perhaps there’d be cause to worry, but there’s no chance someone will release him before he expires.”

“I hate to disagree sir, but we still aren’t quite sure how his god Jashin makes him immortal or what purpose his sacrifices serve. It is possible that he will live for centuries without making one. If that is the case, then this is the safest place to leave him. I know you will not forget, and the peace here is—historically—less interrupted than what we experience in our village.” 

“Well, I’m sure you know best. Young Jiraiya is always telling me how clever you are and Gamabunta speaks highly of you, too.”

“Thank you, sir. They are both very kind. And thank you again for allowing the use of a place on your mountain for such a human affair.” 

“You know you are always welcome here, young man. We have a contract, after all.” 

“Indeed. I will be sure to visit again soon. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a second opponent to get back to.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t possibly fight right now, young man. You just used three high level sealing techniques after teleporting hundreds of miles with a passenger. Young Jiraiya would never forgive me if I let you teleport the same distance back to fight a powerful opponent.”

“With all due respect, sir, I left that powerful opponent alone with a team of my subordinates who cannot possibly defeat him alone. I have no choice.”

“There is always a choice, my boy. Come have lunch with me. Ma puts out quite a spread, you know. While you eat, I’ll have a messenger toad find your friends. She can summon you there, which will save you chakra on the trip, in addition to what you regain by eating a good home-cooked meal.”

Kakuzu was probably the most powerful member of the Akatsuki after the Masked Uchiha and the group’s leader Pain, according to Itachi. To fight him was to fight five A-rank shinobi. Asuma’s team would not last long fighting him alone, but Asuma’s team was under orders not to engage. Either way, delaying an hour would probably be the difference between victory and defeat. That didn’t mean Minato had to like it.

“I do hate to impose.”

“Nonsense! Ma is dying to see you and she loves to cook. She’d be putting out a spread whether we had a guest or not.”

“Then thank you for your kind offer. It has been many years since I last met your lovely wife and those were less than ideal circumstances, as the three of us were fighting together alongside Jiraiya-sensei at the time. I suppose the delay of an hour is more than worth the chance to see your lovely home.”

“Flattery! You haven’t even seen though house yet. Though it is rather well appointed, if I do say so myself. Well, we have had plenty of time to get situated,” the little sage continued, leading Minato down the path to his home. “We’ve been married for longer than Hidden Leaf’s been an established village.”

The house was very well appointed indeed. Everything was warm and smooth, just as an amphibian would prefer. However, everything was also sized for people less than half Minato’s height. Squatting on the small stone chair, Minato was a little surprised only because so many denizens of the mountain were bigger than most human buildings. Still, the sages must be expected to design their home with their own comfort in mind, not their grown up grandchildren.

“You really will have to forgive me,” Shima apologized again, putting one carefully prepared dish on the table after another until a veritable feast was spread out before Minato. Obviously she was being modest, not referring to the fact that most of the food involved still wriggling worms. “If I’d known a guest would be coming to lunch, I would have whipped up something nice.”

“Please, Mother of the Toad Way, I am honored to dine at your table. Indeed, this is the most elaborate meal I have been served in quite some time. Thank you very much for the food.”

Minato started carefully with one of the sautéed beetles that at least appeared to already be dead. It was, in fact, coated with soy sauce, and didn’t taste very strange, but the chitin crunched sharply, scrapping unpleasantly against the inside of his mouth. “Crispy,” he offered in as complementary a manner as he could manage. 

“Oh, well that’s the key with those fellows, you know. Keep the shell nice and hard so you can suck on it a bit before swallowing it down. I suppose you humans prefer to masticate the way you do, though.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Minato grinned, opting for one of the nice soft worms, despite the way the creature wrapped itself around his chopsticks.

“To each their own, I always say. What a boring world it would be if only toads lived in it. It’s nice to have a human to lunch. We haven’t had a guest like you since the last time young Jiraiya visited.”

“I hate to ask,” Minato said, pausing in the middle of a bowl of maggots that were fattier, greasier, and far spicier than the rice he had hoped to pretend they were, “because everything is so well prepared and delicious.”

“Go on, boy. Is there something special you’d like?” 

“It’s only that humans are not toads. Was there ever any dish that particularly disagreed with Jiraiya-sensei?” 

“He’s much pickier than you are,” Shima said, “but now that you mention it, those red beetles there made him awfully sick once. Maybe you should steer clear of them.”

“Thank you, I think I will. They do look tasty, though,” Minato lied.

“Oh go on, you silver tongue. It’s always nice to see a young person enjoy my cooking so much.” 

“You are an excellent cook. I apologize if I am overindulging, but I depleted my chakra quite a lot and I have an important fight to get back to. Protein such as this is most welcome.” Which was true enough, even if it required some effort to keep down.

“Yes, my husband mentioned as much. Be sure to drink lots of tea, then. It is my own revitalizing blend.” 

The tea tasted very much like hot frog-water, but Minato drank his cup down dutifully and poured himself another. After forcing nearly half a kilogram of insects down, he needed a few minutes of rest to digest and regain the strength that the food could provide. The tea was bitter, but it was the most palatable thing on the table and Minato had faith in the restorative powers of herbs prepared by a sage. He drank a third cup.

“So tell me about your enemies,” Shima said, helping herself to a cup as well. “The Akatsuki, young Jiraiya said?”

“Yes, ma’am. They are all very powerful. S-rank, which is roughly equivalent to Jiraiya-sensei’s level of skill. The main goal of their organization seems to involve killing my son.”

“Not little Naruto! But he’s such a good little boy, always asking my grandchildren out to play the way he does.”

“Believe me, Great Sage, my feelings are similar. The trouble with the Akatsuki goes beyond power or the threat to my son, though. Nearly all of the organizations members—excepting the three leaders about whom we know very little—are verified mass murderer for whom life has little value. The man I asked permission to seal away here on your mountain is immortal because he has made a religion out of slaughtering thousands. His partner—the man I must go to fight as soon as your messenger toad summons me—once tried to assassinate the First Hokage. That was his duty as a shinobi, but when he failed, he slaughtered the elders of his own village and stole their hearts to enhance his jutsu and extend his life. He has been stealing hearts for years so that he can use elemental styles that he would not normally have a connection to.”

“So he’s strong enough to take the hearts of powerful shinobi.”

“Yes, and he’s killed many others out of anger or because the corpses would be worth money.”

“Money. Such a human concern.” 

“Perhaps, ma’am, but not all of us kill for it. Shinobi of the Leaf are paid because the work we do is valued, but I do not believe that any of us work for it. We fight for our friends and our village.” 

“You fight for your children. All living creatures of any worth at all will do that much.” 

“I’m glad you understand, ma’am.”

“Well my boy,” Fukasaku interrupted politely, “That messenger has to be just about in place.” 

Minato stood up to bow as deeply as he could. “Thank you both for your hospitality. I hope you will visit me in my home one day soon. My own cooking could never compare, of course, but I will make every attempt.”

“We might just take you up on that, young man.”

“Good luck in your battle. Remember—“ 

Minato was robbed of the sage’s final advice by the familiar pull of a summoning. He saw the little messenger toad that had been tasked with calling him, but before he could thank her, Minato heard the familiar clashes of a hard fought battle. The choice to wait had been the wrong one.


	59. Chapter 59

The scene before Minato was like something out of a nightmare. Kakuzu—the money hungry shinobi that Itachi called one of the most powerful and deadly members of the Akatsuki—had Kakashi by the throat. Sweating hard, with his Sharingan uncovered and his head shoved back against hard stone, Kakashi didn’t seem to be in much of a position to fight back. 

“It has been a long time since two of my hearts were destroyed,” the criminal growled. “Luckily, your friend the Sarutobi can replace my rare Wind Style heart. I would be really annoyed if your bounty wasn’t so large, Sharingan Kakashi, but today isn’t such a bad day after all. Fifty million for you, a fresh Wind Style heart, and it isn’t like Earth Style users are hard to find. I’ll go for a walk in the Hidden Stone and pick one up as soon as we’re done here.”

Minato panicked. All thoughts of strategy flew out of his mind. He rushed Kakuzu with a Rasengan. Leaping forward recklessly got him intercepted by a demonic tiger made of vile black thread, wearing a red mask. Fortunately, the distraction was just barely enough for Kakashi to slip out of the bounty hunter’s clutches. Minato didn’t have time to worry about him, though. He barely had time to dodge away from Kakuzu’s Fire Style Heart as it performed the Intelligent Hard Work jutsu that Itachi had warned them of. Immolating a large portion of the terrain with a single blast, it was difficult to believe that the jutsu was at half power. Minato would not have liked seeing it combined with whatever the Wind Style Heart would have added. 

Behind Minato a deformed monkey creature sprang up to use a lightning style—False Darkness. From the mouth of its white mask, a spear of electricity stabbed through the rocks where Minato had been only an instant before. The big stones crumbled around the enormous hole made by the laser. 

“And who are you?” Kakuzu called tauntingly. “Are you worth anything, teleporter? You’re fast enough, but have you earned a nice big bounty like the Copy Ninja and the Sarutobi have?” 

“I am the shinobi who took your partner,” Minato said, gathering his wits. “Are you not concerned for your friend?” 

“I’d rather have your name,” the criminal laughed. “You don’t have long to talk, and it can be troublesome trying to figure out if an unidentified corpse is worth anything or not.” 

“But you have given me time,” Minato said, dodging another lightning spear nimbly. “You have given me months with my family that I had never hoped to have. Months to finish the research that I had barely had a chance to start.” 

Gathering another Rasengan in his hand, Minato carefully combined his normal chakra with his wind type chakra. The goal had always been to develop a technique for an ordinary man that mimicked the Tailed Beast Bomb in style and power. He wasn’t there yet, but his Rasengan Senbon Bomb was powerful enough to shred the Lightning Style Heart into a million unrecognizable pieces. The percussive force of his own attack knocked Minato to the ground, and the drain of using the technique kept him there for a long moment, panting for breath. 

“You are the Fourth Hokage—the one who came out of the Reaper Death God that Black Zetsu and his minion tried to extract Nine Tails chakra from.” 

“I am Minato Namikaze, yes.” Wobbling a little with effort, he pushed himself to his feet and wiped some of the dust from underneath his forehead protector before sweat brought it dangerously close to his eyes.

“Pity. You’d be worth millions, but I’m down to two hearts for the first time in centuries. Even with yours and the Copy Ninja’s, I’ll still need to make a trip to Hidden Stone.” 

With a rush of grotesque black thread, the demonic masked tiger was absorbed back into Kakuzu’s main body. Kakashi rushed him, but was slapped away by one of the powerful black tentacles. He slammed into a rocky outcropping and fell to the ground, unmoving. Minato could see Ino Yamanaka desperately working to heal Asuma while Shikamaru and Choji lay near her, bruised, bloody, and clearly out of the fight. The two chunin whose names Minato hadn’t had time to learn were dead. 

“You are overconfident,” Minato said, seeing the end of the fight and how to bring it about. 

Kakuzu roared and shot another blast of Intelligent Hard Work that Minato could only dodge. The former Hokage was careful enough to avoid bringing the fight closer to his injured subordinates; something that Kakuzu was smart enough to anticipate. The second blast was fired before Minato even finished evading the first. There was no choice but to redirect it with Minato’s space-time jutsu. If any more of the battleground were destroyed, Minato would have to choose between dodging attacks and keeping his injured comrades off Kakuzu’s radar. 

Taking advantage of Minato’s apparently divided attention, Kakuzu charged him. Minato teleported forward a few feet to meet the charge with a solid thrust from his chakra blade. The fire mask shattered, but Kakuzu caught Minato’s throat in one impossibly large fist.

“Not enough, Lord Hokage,” Kakuzu growled, grinning beyond the terrible scars that sliced his face into an eternal smile. “Not nearly enough.” 

“Do you know when you lost this fight?” Minato could barely breathe, and he certainly didn’t have the strength left to counter attack, but he felt his opponent deserved an opportunity to understand. 

“I haven’t! I will take your heart and the heart of Kakashi Hatake. Then I will take the thirty-five million Ryo that Asuma Sarutobi is worth. I have won, and you are nothing but my food now.”

“You never asked about your partner,” Minato explained breathlessly. “You should have shown concern for him. It’s natural to form a bond with the people you fight alongside, but when I returned without him, you weren’t even curious.”

“Because I don’t care about Hidan! I hope you did kill him. I would have killed him myself a thousand times over if it was possible, but he’s an unstoppable little cockroach. He’ll turn up sooner or later, begging me to stich him back together. He always does. Worthless bug.” 

“You are the type of man who undervalues his companions. That is why you will die here.”

“You’re the one who is dead,” Kakuzu howled, drawing one arm back to punch through Minato’s chest and rip out his heart. Then he stopped, blue lightning sparking from his own chest and crackling around his body.

“You should have been concerned about your partner,” Minato explained as the man fell slowly, light fading from his bloodshot eyes, “but you should have been more concerned about mine.” The Akatsuki member’s body dropped away, revealing Kakashi’s intense face and unveiled Sharingan. 

“You okay?” he asked, withdrawing his hand and climbing out of his Headhunter tunnel. 

“Fine. A little tired, but completely uninjured. You?” 

The shadow clone of Kakashi lying prone among the rocks dissipated in a puff of smoke and he pulled his forehead protector down firmly to cover his Sharingan. “Out of chakra and not completely uninjured, but I missed the first part of the fight so I’m not as bad as Asuma.” 

“What are you doing here?”

“You left a note.” 

“Kakashi.”

“Ino and Choji were over to stalk you and mooch food respectively—ostensibly to visit Naruto—when I found the note. They made a persuasive argument for accompanying me. Surprisingly, they were able to keep up, so I let them.” 

“Naruto?” Minato tried to suppress the edge of panic, turning to walk quickly toward the others, but he could tell from the way Kakashi’s face softened that he failed. 

“Ah. Sleeping peacefully on the kitchen floor. He might not forgive me, but he isn’t here.”

“Thank you.”

“Having me here was liability enough for you.”

“Don’t be foolish. You were a key factor in my strategy.”

“At the end. When you first returned from taking care of Hidan, my presence was almost enough to get you killed.” 

“Exaggeration. What’s Asuma’s condition?” Minato turned to Ino, changing the subject to one that actually mattered.

“Not good,” she said. “I’m not a brainiac like Sakura. My Magic Palm isn’t going to be enough.”

“Tell Kurenai,” Asuma coughed, his eyes unfocused and turned toward the sky. He didn’t continue.

“Can he be moved?”

“To a hospital,” Ino snapped.

“Yes, Ino, to a hospital,” Minato said very slowly and kindly. She was just Naruto’s age, after all, chunin or not. “We’re going to split up now. You’ll be safe with Kakashi, but I need to take Asuma on ahead, and I need to know if he has any spinal damage before I lift him.” 

“Oh,” she said, her big blue eyes shining with unshed tears. “No, sir. It’s all organ damage and blood loss. You can pick him up.” 

“Right.” Minato took the heavy Sarutobi in his arms. “Kakashi—“

“I’ll get them home safe.” 

Nothing else needed to be said. Minato opened space and time to teleport to his marker at the hospital lobby in Leaf Village instantaneously. 

“I am not injured,” he told the surprised intake nurse as he put his heavy burden on one of the available stretchers. 

“Lord Hokage!”

“This is Asuma Sarutobi. He is badly injured. He needs your attention. I am not injured. I have depleted my chakra.”

Then he passed out.


	60. Chapter 60

“You shouldn’t have left me behind,” Naruto said, his voice a strange half whispered accusation. Minato tried to open his eyes, but they were heavy with the remnants of his nightmares. Disoriented, he wasn’t quite sure whose bed he was in. It didn’t feel like Kakashi’s or his own.

“I know you would have acquit yourself well, Naruto. That wasn’t the issue.” Kakashi’s voice was calm and quiet. Everything was fine. Minato would have drifted back to sleep if he didn’t know what monsters waited in that darkness. 

“Dad is hurt because I wasn’t there!” 

“No, your father would have been killed if I let you come.”

“Don’t be mean, Kakashi-sensei!”

“Naruto. I almost got him killed. He wasn’t expecting to see me, and he doesn’t deal with the unexpected as well as he used to.”

“Kakashi-sensei! He’s the Fourth Hokage! You don’t give him enough credit.”

“He’s your father first, Naruto. There’s a reason that genin are never placed on teams with jonin parents, and it sure isn’t because a good parent can’t enforce appropriate discipline or motivate the child to do his or her best. It’s because no matter what, if you’re in battle with your father, one of his eyes will be on you. That’s fine when all he has to do is take out a horde of a thousand zombies. As you said, he’s the Fourth Hokage. You have to understand that it isn’t enough when he’s facing another genius shinobi that Itachi called a threat.”

“Maybe Itachi doesn’t understand just how great my dad is!”

“Naruto.”

“I should have been there. I’m stronger than I was. I could have helped.”

“With the fight,” Minato agreed, forcing his eyes open against the weight of his exhaustion. “Unfortunately, I’d be here no matter what anyone else could do.”

“Dad!” 

“I’m not hurt, Naruto.” 

“You sure seem to be in a hospital bed.” 

“I had to teleport two very long distances carrying two very heavy men, Naruto. Unlike a jinchuriki, I have physical limits to my chakra. However, I needed to bring Hidan to where he could be sealed and I needed to bring Asuma home. Speaking of?”

“Lady Tsunade says Asuma will make a full recovery,” Kakashi said with a soft smile. 

“That’s good to hear. Thank you. Now, you could not have helped me move either man, Naruto, any more than Kakashi could. That is my special jutsu and it is very difficult to master, but those two long hauls are the reason my chakra was so badly depleted. Not anything that happened while I was fighting Kakuzu.” 

“I just want to be able to help,” Minato’s son said miserably. 

“Well, there is one thing—“

“Shut up and let you sleep it off? Sakura already told me.” 

“No. Well, in a way. I should sleep more.” Minato could feel the exhaustion in every limb. He needed to sleep more. “It’s only—“

“What? Do you need something? Can I get you some water or something? Are you hungry? Are you in pain? Do you need me to get a doctor?” 

“No, nothing like that,” Minato said, embarrassed. “I—Kakashi?”

As soon as Minato turned to face his masked friend, there was a warm, comforting hand stroking lightly against his cheek. “The nightmares?” 

“Yes,” he admitted hesitantly. 

“Oh!” Naruto bounced up. “I’ll go get your tea! I can make tea!” 

“That is—“

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, then picked Naruto up by the back of his jacket and dropped him gracelessly onto Minato’s bed like an oversized kit. 

“Kakashi-sensei!” the boy squeaked indignantly. 

“What? Your father likes to have a sense that the people he cares about are close enough to protect him and be protected in turn while he sleeps. For some ridiculous reason he prefers that method of evading his nightmares to being drugged into a stupor. Can’t be me, though, I’m two hours overdue to report in with Tsunade.”

“Look whatever you and Dad get up to is none of my business,” Naruto said, blushing. “Sakura said so.” 

“My tea would be sufficient, thank you, Naruto,” Minato said, careful not to move and disturb the boy. Naruto just looked at him with those impossibly big blue eyes. His blush turned an even deeper shade of red and he carefully relaxed against his father’s side, resting his head on Minato’s bicep. 

“Yeah, but, um, this works too, right?”

“Yes,” Minato said, lifting one heavy hand to ruffle his son’s hair a little. “This works too.” He was asleep again before his hand fell back to his side.

When Minato woke again some time later, Naruto was snoring loudly, draped across his chest. He patted the boy’s blonde hair again and tried to slide out from under him without disrupting his sleep. It was an excellent exercise in stealth; for all that Naruto wasn’t the most observant shinobi in the village. Returning from the toilet, Minato was pleased to note that his son was still sleeping peacefully. He pulled the sheet up and tucked the boy in. The lack of daylight from the wide windows suggested that it was probably well past his son’s bedtime. 

Shucking the hospital garments and tugging his own carefully folded clothes on, Minato left the room and closed the door in complete silence. It was a fair exchange. Naruto had allowed Minato true sleep, so Minato did not disturb his rest. Minato wondered if fair exchanges were the best that he would ever be able to offer his son. Naruto deserved better. 

“You know those beds are for patients, right?” Lady Tsunade wasn’t the type to wait silently in a hallway masking her chakra, but Minato supposed she couldn’t resist the opportunity. 

“I’m sure you didn’t expect me to vacate it before morning, so there’s no reason for my son to do so either.” 

“I expect my patients to be released by a physician.” 

“My apologies, Lady Hokage, would you like to give me an exam?” 

“You were cuter before Kushina taught you about sarcasm. As it happens I was coming to see if you were awake. Jiraiya is back, and he has some intelligence that you might want to hear.” 

“Lead on.” 

Lady Tsunade snorted, but she led the way out of the hospital and up the winding steps to the Hokage’s office. Unlike the half lit hospital and the dark streets of the moonlit village, the Hokage’s office was warm, bright and full of friends. Itachi was sitting quietly out of the way, but Jiraiya and Kakashi were regaling Shizune with a story that Minato politely pretended not to understand. 

“Welcome back, Sensei,” Minato said, interrupting what he was sure would have been a moral anecdote of educational worth. 

“Minato! My favorite student! I hear you took out two Akatsuki in one day.” 

“I was able to prevent Hidan from remaining in a position where he might cause us problems, but Kakuzu was defeated by Kakashi.”

“Asuma helped.” 

“Well,” Tsunade said, “It’s two more down, which means they only have six S-rank members left by Itachi’s accounting.”

“That’s right,” Jiraiya said, nodding sagely. “I have good news, too. I was able to confirm Itachi’s suspicions that two of the members, including the nominal leader called Lord Pain, and even the name Akatsuki itself may have originated in the Land of Rain.”

“I remember fighting there,” Minato admitted, “During the war when I was still a chunin leading a squad. I don’t remember many of the local shinobi being very strong.” 

“It would be a mistake to underestimate Pain,” Itachi said. “Like Madara, it is possible he has Uchiha blood. He possesses the Rinnegan, the final evolution of our ocular jutsu.” 

“It isn’t underestimating him to say that I’ve found him. I’m going to infiltrate that closed village and find out the truth about his nature. If he really has the Rinnegan as you say, well, I once knew a shinobi from the Land of Rain who possessed that gift. I was told he was dead, but if he lives, it is my duty to find him.” 

“I believe everyone here sees it as their duty to find and stop the Akatsuki,” Itachi said coolly.

“You don’t think it could be Nagato?” Tsunade asked, her eyes wide and her mouth turned down ever so slightly at the corners. “Jiraiya, they were all killed. We know that.” 

“Do we?”

“Sensei?”

“When the war ended, I took on three students in the Land of Rain. Sort of like reparations. I never mentioned them to you, Minato, because I heard they died soon after I left. However, you are living proof that I have given up on my students too quickly in the past.”

“Sensei.”

“No, there was a way to rescue you and I did not look for it.” 

“I chose my prison.”

“But perhaps Nagato did not choose his.”

“Pain is dangerous,” Itachi warned. “I am not sure that I could defeat him in single combat.” 

“No one said your Akatsuki friends weren’t dangerous, boy-o.”

“I only mean to suggest that entering Rain intending to rescue Pain may be dangerously misguided. You should at least bring Kakashi. The Sharingan is not proof against the Rinnegan, but it may be enough of an advantage to give you a fighting chance.” 

“I should go with you as well, Sensei, if we’re assembling a team.”

“No one is assembling a team,” Lady Tsunade said, “and if we were, I would tell you who was going to be on it. Jiraiya thinks he has a chance of infiltrating the Village Hidden in the Rain if he goes alone. Given what we know of their security, I happen to agree that a single shinobi is more likely to succeed than a group. Especially Jiraiya. I haven’t caught him creeping around the women’s baths often enough to know that his concealment techniques are superb.” 

“Have you considered that I’m a mature man now and don’t need to sneak around baths to get a look at beautiful ladies?”

The Fifth Hokage snorted in disbelief.

“Well, you’re right that I should be fine infiltrating Hidden Rain on my own, in any case.” 

Minato thought the two legendary shinobi were both probably correct. Jiraiya-sensei had always been a little too good at concealing himself for Minato’s finer feelings. That said, Minato had studied diligently under him. He could keep up. Still, the decision was the Hokage’s to make. Up to a point. Cold fog was building in the corners of Minato’s mind. He had a bad feeling about this mission.

“You do still have the charm I gave you, Sensei?”

“Yes, my boy. All of your friends wear them so that you can keep anything bad from ever happening again.”

“His friends might be nicer about it,” Kakashi drawled, swaggering between them to lean casually against the Hokage’s desk. If Minato didn’t know him so well, he might not see the challenge carved in to every line of his body. 

Jiraiya-sensei blinked. 

“Kakashi.” 

One word from Minato was all it took for Kakashi to really just be leaning against the desk, casually toying with a book, no threat to anyone. 

Jiraiya-sensei blinked again. “I have the charm, Minato, and I’m coming back in one piece. You and I need to talk about the Innkeeper’s daughter again. I think you might have failed to mention a few key details.” 

“Promise me you’ll use it if you need help.”

“Of course I will.”

Minato caught the old sage’s arm and forced their eyes to meet. “Promise me, Sensei. Even if he is your old student, even if you do feel like you failed him somehow, promise me that you’ll call for help. I still need you.”

Jiraiya-sensei’s eyes grew wide and then narrowed to a serious, understanding mien. He gave a quick, sharp bob of his white head. “I promise.”


	61. Chapter 61

Naruto improved faster than any shinobi Minato had ever known. Under Kakashi’s tutelage, the boy had quickly become used to recognizing and escaping genjutsu. Practicing the Rasengan with Minato, he showed incredible focus and diligence. Obviously it made sense to start practicing mixing regular chakra with elemental type chakra before Naruto moved up to the far more dangerous Tailed Beast Bomb. 

Starting slowly made sense, since Naruto was completely new to working with his natural elemental chakra. Using the litmus test could not be skipped, even if Minato could feel the Wind in his son. Forcing a child to train a jutsu with a lesser elemental affinity before first practicing the one that came naturally to him would be inefficient as well as cruel. Still, when the paper split as though sliced in twain by the sharpest of knives, Minato couldn’t resist catching his son in an enthusiastic hug and swinging the boy around like a dervish.

“You know I would love you no matter what,” Minato said seriously, putting the boy down. “Even if you didn’t have the Namikaze Wind Type. That doesn’t really matter to me.”

“I know, Dad.” Naruto’s eyes were shining with the joy of the moment.

“It will just be easier to teach you the Rasengan Senbon Bomb than having to help you develop a brand new technique based around a different natural element. Nothing at all to do with you having the same chakra nature as my father and my father’s father before him. That sort of traditional feeling only leads to stifled, uncreative clan attitudes like the ones that nearly destroyed the Uchiha.”

“I get it, Dad.” Naruto continued grinning and punched him in the shoulder lightly. “It’s okay to just be happy sometimes, you know.”

“So long as you don’t feel I’m putting undue pressure on you to follow in my footsteps, or—“

“Follow you? Ha! I’m going to surpass you, remember?” Naruto’s smile was sunshine itself.

“Well then you’d better get back to work,” Minato said, just barely managing to not ruin the moment and burst into tears of pride.

Perhaps it wasn’t a matter of pressure or expectations, but Naruto demonstrably flourished under direct tutelage. He never showed any desire to skip training or slack off when Minato was with him, even when his friends Sakura and Sasuke came around. Having to order his teenage son to play with his friends rather than practice jutsu with his old man probably made Minato the luckiest father alive. Clearly Naruto was serious about his dream, and Minato wanted to do everything he could to help the boy surpass him. He thought about it daily. 

Of course, if Naruto could completely master Kurama in addition to his existing techniques, that would be a great step, but Minato didn’t think his son’s Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu quite matched the Flying Thunder God for speed. Minato wished he could give the boy something truly powerful. He found himself wondering more and more how someone with Jiraiya-sensei’s personality had acquired Sage Jutsu. Surely that meant that Naruto could probably manage it as well, if he was willing to put in the effort. Unfortunately, thinking about Jiraiya-sensei led to worrying about him. He still hadn’t checked in after his departure for Hidden Rain.

“Are you okay, Dad?” It wasn’t like Naruto to stop in the middle of a training exercise, especially one he was having difficulty with, like summoning enough of his wind chakra to cut a waterfall.

“I’m fine, Naruto. Did you need something?”

“No. I mean, I said I was ready to go back to Kakashi-sensei’s Shadow Clone training idea. I guess you didn’t hear me, though.”

“Sorry, Naruto. I haven’t been paying enough attention to you today, have I?”

“That’s okay. I don’t need watching very second, you know! Even when I was working to cut leaves with all of my clones, I only needed you like twice to stop Kurama from taking me over.”

“I don’t watch you train just to keep the Demon Fox in check, Naruto. I like seeing the progress you’re making in understanding chakra nature. Kakashi was smart to suggest this physical training method. Of course, he has been your teacher for quite a while now. I apologize for my distraction.” 

“It’s really okay, Dad. Just, if you want to take a break for a while, I promise not to use any more clones while I train today. I should be okay if I just practice on my own.”

“Thank you, Naruto. I know that making an offer like that is difficult for you. Unfortunately, there is nothing I could do on my own to assuage my fears. If you will forgive my prior inattention, I would still prefer to offer what assistance I might with your training.”

“Well what are you afraid of? Maybe we can go find Kakashi-sensei. There isn’t anything in the whole world that the three of us together couldn’t beat, you know!”

Minato smiled almost involuntarily. “Perhaps fear wasn’t the right word. I’m concerned for Jiraiya-sensei. His mission in Hidden Rain is a very dangerous one, I think.”

“Aw, the Pervy Sage can take care of himself. He’s really strong, you know.” 

“Yes, but this particular mission—I believe it will be difficult for him.”

“Why?”

“You recall the briefing that Itachi gave you on the various members of the Akatsuki, right?”

“Sure, Dad. You think there’s one of those guys that the Pervy Sage can’t take?”

“In a way. He has gone to gather information about the nominal—perhaps puppet—leader of the organization: Pain. Do you remember what Itachi told you about him?”

“He lives in Hidden Rain, maybe, and he has funny eyes.”

“Naruto.”

“They—his eyes—they’re um, Rinnegan, right? It’s supposed to be even more powerful than the Sharingan. It’s what the Sage of Six Paths had and Pain can use some of his jutsu or something.”

“That is essentially correct. You understand that as rare as the Sharingan is, the Rinnegan has not shown itself in over a hundred years, since the time of the First Hokage.”

“So what? Pervy Sage can beat him, and if he can’t, we’ll go help!”

“Naruto, I am convinced that Jiraiya-sensei was his teacher.”

“What?”

“The Rinnegan is very rare and Jiraiya-sensei once had a student in Hidden Rain who possessed the technique. A student he believed died many years ago.”

“Why would the Pervy Sage have a student from another village?”

“He took in a group of war orphans from Hidden Rain after the wars of our country devastated their land with a fight those people had no part in.”

“Oh. But why would one of them be a bad guy, then? Maybe it’s his brother or something.”

“Maybe,” Minato agreed slowly, “But I have a bad feeling about this and I have never given much credence to coincidence.”

“Well, if it is his student, the Pervy Sage should be able to defeat him no problem!”

“No problem? If Sasuke had chosen to remain with Orochimaru, do you think Kakashi could have killed him with no problem? Orochimaru was the favorite student of the Third Hokage. Was Hiruzen Sarutobi able to defeat his student with no problem?” 

“Dad. If he needs help, you’re here. You’re back now, and you can fight anyone. Plus, I can help too, this time. I’m pretty strong, you know.”

“I know, Naruto, but we’re here.” Minato ruffled his son’s messy hair. “We’re here and he’s there. But I’ll take a page from your book and try not to worry.”

As if those words were the final shout to complete a magic spell, Minato felt the sudden flare of warmth on the cuff around his wrist, indicating a friend in need. He wasted almost a full second looking down at Jiraiya-sensei’s charm in disbelief. Shaking it off he looked back up at his son.

“Naruto, get Lady Tsunade to the Hospital. There is a good chance we will need her expertise.” 

Just as Minato opened space and time, following his teleportation marker to his teacher’s side, he heard Naruto say, “Not this time.” Somehow, Naruto caught hold of Minato’s arm and was teleporting along with him. It took a great deal of skill to teleport in tandem with another shinobi. Frankly, Naruto didn’t have that skill. He could hardly teleport at all apart from a standard substitution jutsu. Of course, he and Kakashi had been working together while Minato attended his other duties on something that Naruto called “A secret, Dad!” Kakshi had simply said it was more genjutsu evasion, the traitor. 

Minato was quite probably, modesty aside, the most skilled teleporter alive. He could shake off an unwanted passenger, even one with more skill than Naruto had likely achieved during his secret practices with Kakashi. In a situation like this one, Minato would easily have been able to prevent Kakashi from following him. The difficulty was, dislodging someone attempting a tandem teleport in the split second after departure could send the tagalong virtually anywhere depending on his chakra and ability. A skilled teleporter would simply return to their starting location unharmed. An inexperienced shinobi could end up stuck inside a mountain or passed out in a foreign country with no way home. Minato didn’t know what Naruto’s skill level was. Rather than attempting to shake the boy, he did the only possible thing and held tight to Naruto, guiding him to Jiraiya-sensei’s side.

Minato carried his son into a danger so great that the Toad Sage himself needed to call for help. It was not his finest moment as a father.


	62. Chapter 62

Minato noted the water first. His battleground was some sort of sewage distribution terminal. There were pipes of various heights emptying into a reservoir and Jiraiya-sensei was lying prone on a small island near the center. The links of his chain necklace had scattered as they were designed to do, but most of them had fallen in deep water and therefore were useless for practical purposes. 

Strong enemies were near, five of them, all standing in the drainage pipes in the tall stone walls. All of them wore Akatsuki robes and had black piercings in their skin. Ignoring them, Minato rushed to Jiraiya’s side, dragging Naruto along with him. 

“Nagato isn’t one of them,” the old sage coughed. He was in terrible shape; wounds covered his aged body and blood spewed from his mouth with every word. Clearly there was severe damage to some of his internal organs. “They all have the Rinnegan. They are all Nagato, but he isn’t one of them.”

“So your former student is controlling them?” Minato looked up at the enemies. It didn’t make sense to risk a confrontation here, even with whatever intelligence the Toad Sage could give him. Unfamiliar terrain coupled with being outnumbered was sure to equate to disaster. 

Grunting an affirmative seemed to be too much. Jiraiya’s eyes rolled backward and a horribly familiar gurgling sound came from his throat.

“Sensei?” Minato shook him roughly. “Master?”

“Dad.” 

“It was kind of you to bring the Nine Tails to us,” one of the enemy shinobi said. “I imagine you’ll die as easily as Jiraiya did, and it saves us the trouble of going to get him.” 

The world blurred before Minato’s eyes. Minato blurred before the world, screaming in pain. They were corpses. Nothing but corpses. They couldn’t fight him. Corpses didn’t move. Nothing did. The water falling from the drainage pipes. The raindrops. Naruto’s tears. Everything was frozen in time as Minato attacked. 

Knocking the receptors out with a knife blow wasn’t enough to destroy them, so Minato made sure to hit each rod with a chakra strike to follow up. It meant two blows for each control rod, and all of the corpses were full of the evil black devices, but that didn’t matter. Minato had time. The rain was cold, but it didn’t start to fall. Minato hadn’t been fast enough to save his teacher. He would be fast enough to avenge him. 

Eventually, unfortunately, he ran out of targets. Water struck his cheek, and not because he was rushing through it. Another drop fell. The surface of the reservoir began to ripple again with the familiar patter of rain. Underneath the rush of water, he heard the familiar thud of a corpse falling, clothing rustling around the body as it hit the ground. It echoed five times around the walls of the reservoir. 

“Dad?”

Minato was shaking. “I’ll find him. You take Master Jiraiya back to the village. I’ll find the one who did this.” 

“Dad. The Pervy Sage is. I don’t think Granny Tsunade can do anything to help him, you know.” Naruto was weeping openly over the body. Minato couldn’t do anything to help him. 

“I know.” The rain continued to fall. “But we should return his body to the village.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we should. Let’s go together, though, okay?” 

Minato looked at his son. Naruto took a step back. “This Nagato is Pain, one of the strongest of the Akatsuki, with the possible exception of Madara. He may have been weakened by Master Jiraiya, and these corpses may have been denied to him, but if I don’t capitalize on that advantage he will regroup and come after you again.” 

“Then I’m going with you.” Naruto’s face was set in a determined scowl. “He was my teacher, too.”

“Yes.” The voice was unnaturally deep and it seemed to echo from every raindrop. “I will face you, Lord Fourth Hokage, for the Nine Tails. If you lose, it stays.”

“He is my son.” Minato felt sanity returning, but he didn’t look at Jiraiya’s body. He couldn’t afford to break down. “And he is going home.” 

“So you’ll have to win,” Naruto said. “You’re right, Dad. Itachi told us that Pain is the number two threat in the Akatsuki. The Pervy Sage weakened him for you, and all of that Flying Thunder God you just did to those puppet people or whatever they were had to have helped. Now is the time to face him.”

“Now is the time to bring you safely home to Leaf Village. No arguing.”

Naruto didn’t argue, just gazed up at his father with a serious expression. “Believe in me.”

That was a father’s duty. Minato closed his eyes. If they were going to do this, he wasn’t going to trust their enemy to lead the way. He hadn’t studied on Mount Myoboku the way Master Jiraiya had, and he couldn’t sustain natural energy to use Sage techniques in a fight the way the legendary man could. However, he was a student of the sage. Minato was able to gather enough natural energy to gain a sense of his surroundings. As suspected, Pain was also reaching out into the world with a similar technique. That made sensing the man’s true location possible. Minato took Naruto by the hand and teleported.

The element of surprise was a sword that cut both ways. Pain, the shinobi who was directing and controlling chakra forces around Hidden Rain like a spider in a web, sat on a throne of black spikes that pierced his skin. He looked thin, pale, and physically fragile, but looks were deceiving. A black rod shot from the throne, targeting Naruto the second they entered the room. Minato pulled his son out of the line of fire. Thousands of origami butterflies filled the air with the fluttering of paper wings. That would make the woman with blue hair Konan, another of Jiraiya’s former students. 

“Wait,” Naruto said. “Please wait.”

Minato did.

“For what?” Pain did not attack again, but he still radiated that evil killing intent. He radiated pain, too. Was the man sitting on a throne or a torturer’s rack? 

“I want to know why. Why did you kill the Pervy Sage? Why do you want to kill me? Dad said he was your Master, too, so I know he must have been kind to you. He was always kind to me.”

“He was in the way.”

“That’s all? You killed him just for that? Didn’t he take care of you and teach you ninjutsu when you were orphaned because of a war?” 

“Yes. He did. One of the greatest heroes of the Hidden Leaf took in three orphans from Hidden Rain and became our teacher. But how were we orphaned little Nine Tails? My parents were civilians, murdered in their own home by shinobi from Hidden Leaf. Is one man’s kindness supposed to erase my hatred?”

“But—“

“Do you forgive us, Fourth Hokage? It was Tobi who caused you to be resurrected, but it could be said that it was Tobi who caused your death in the first place, by trying to take the Nine Tails from your wife. Do you forgive him? Even now, do you feel anything but hate in your heart toward me, the one that killed your master?” 

“No.” Minato didn’t. He couldn’t.

“That is the way of the shinobi world. That is the cycle of vengeance that each of us are born into. The people that you love are killed and that pain drives you to kill. So it is that the killing will never stop and our world will be forever at war, but there is a way to end it. I will end it. I will use the power of the tailed beasts to unleash ultimate destruction on this cursed land. Every nation will experience a shared pain, untold losses to the same weapon. The survivors will understand one another because their loved ones will have been killed together, and so there will be no vengeance. The borders will be redrawn and joined together. The nations will no longer make war against one another. This is my path to peace. This is the path of Pain.” 

“Really?” Naruto laughed, clutching his sides and throwing his head back, long and loud in a way that reminded Minato painfully of Master Jiraiya. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard! You’re going to kill a lot of people to stop people from dying? That will never work, you know!” 

Another black rod shot out from Nagato’s throne, but Minato pulled his son out of the way in time. “You might be right. I could never forgive the man who killed my wife, but Naruto is right, too. The cost of your way is far too high.” 

“So what is your way? Should we just sit back and wait for the revenge and the killing to stop on it’s own? The rain will drown everyone in this country before that happens.” 

“I’ll stop it,” Naruto said, and suddenly it was like looking at someone much older. For some reason, Minato’s mind supplied an image of the First Hokage carved in stone, looking out over the village. “Itachi was a part of your organization, so you know his story. You must know that his younger brother was set to kill him for his crimes, but now they live together in their old family compound. Sasuke gave up his revenge. You can give up yours. It’s not too late. The Pervy Sage was like a grandfather to me. He was kind, and he taught me things, and we shared a popsicle once. I hate you for killing him. I’ll never forgive you. But that doesn’t mean I have to kill you. That doesn’t mean we can’t make peace.”

“Foolish boy. What do you know about loss? What is one teacher compared to a parent or a lover? Ask your father if he will give up his revenge. Ask him if his pain will ever heal.” 

Naruto’s enormous blue eyes looked up at Minato pleadingly. Minato took a deep breath.

“I am not an avenging spirit. When I came back from the dead, I did not go looking for the Akatsuki. I found my son, because I would rather build a future than live in the past. I cannot forgive what happened, but I believe in peace. If you give up on your plan of destruction now, Naruto and I will leave. Hidden Rain will never again be troubled by Hidden Leaf.” 

“Build a future?”

“Nagato?” It was the first time Konan had said a word. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the tortured figure in the chair.

“It might be possible, with Jiraiya here. He would have come, to see Master Jiraiya.”

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked. “Who is he?”

“The true leader of the Akatsuki, and the best of all of us.”

“Nagato! Even if it is possible, Yahiko would never want that.”

“That’s why he’s the best of us.” Slowly, Nagato brought his hands together in the ram seal. Minato had plenty of time to stop him, but he didn’t make a move, just watched as those boney hands shifted into the snake sign. “Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to finish this story. I really, really am.


	63. Chapter 63

The truth was, Minato really did like Yahiko. It would be impossible not to. He was convivial, friendly, and gregarious, just like their master.

“Oh, these noodles are so good! Another bowl, and one more for Master Jiraiya, too.”

“Ho, ho! Not for me, no thank you. I couldn’t eat another bite, my boy!”

“What are you talking about? There’s no food in the land of the dead, you know!” Yahiko had insisted on bringing them all to a restaurant instead of the palace Konan suggested. He also had his left arm firmly around Konan’s waist. He hadn’t released her for longer than a minute after the extremely passionate kiss they’d shared the moment he woke. She didn’t seem to mind. It seemed that the rebirth technique traded the user’s life for as many resurrections as he pleased, because Jiraiya was also alive and completely unharmed. 

“I wasn’t there for as long,” the toad sage said, serious for once.

“Ah, yes,” Yahiko said, waving his chopsticks absently. “I was dead for years. I’m sure it’s a little different when you first pass. Nagato will be meeting up with his parents and the others who have gone before him right now. I’m sure he doesn’t miss miso yet. You have to give it time.”

“Yahiko!” Konan’s eyes were wide. “Don’t you think you should speak with a little more respect?”

Yahiko looked down at the table, but he didn’t remove his arm and Konan didn’t pull away. “Maybe. If he were here I’d kick his ass. He was the one with the Rinnegan. Even with all those crazy ideas of his, he had no business dying for an ordinary shinobi like me.” The man brightened. “But since I can’t return the favor and I know we’ll meet again, I’m going to make sure I live every second of the time he gave me to the fullest. That means eating my fill.” He met Konan’s eyes. “There are other things I regret not having in my first life.” 

“Yahiko!” Her blush was a deep crimson, but she didn’t look away. He did, absently accepting his next bowl of noodles. 

“Well if you’re still too dedicated to the cause to have a relationship, I understand, but I thought I’d try my luck.” His denial was obviously just lip service. The woman was still firmly pressed against his side. 

“Of course I want to be with you.” 

“Good! You’re not going to be one of those picky brides, are you? Because Master Jiraiya probably wants to go back to Leaf sometime soon, and he should really be here for the wedding.”

“Idiot. What kind of a way is that to ask a woman to marry you?”

“Are you saying you won’t?”

“Don’t be silly. Of course you and your son are welcome to stay for the wedding as well, Lord Fourth.”

Minato smiled. “I’m afraid we’ll have to decline. We left in a bit of a hurry and our friends back home will be worried. We’ll stay for the funeral, but then we’ll have to go.” 

“Ah,” Konan said, her blush fading a little as she looked down at the table. “Yes. The funeral.” 

“It’s only right to put him to rest properly,” said Yahiko, “but I’m not sure what he would have wanted. Since he was set up as a god here, and all, we should probably do something grand. A thousand paper flowers or something?” 

“At the very least,” Jiraiya said. “He deserves a proper sendoff after what he did for the two of us!” 

“Um, you mean killing you?” Naruto asked rudely.

Yahiko laughed. “He killed us both, after a fashion. It was cowardly of me to make him do it. In the end, that might have been what really sent him over the edge. We’ll bury him with honor.”

“No,” Minato said. “Not a burial.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“The Sharingan can be transplanted, even months after death. I don’t think Nagato would want that for his Rinnegan. There is no way of knowing what sort of unscrupulous person would come after those eyes, or what evil use they could be put to.” 

“A cremation then,” Yahiko said thoughtfully. “That gives me an idea.” 

The funeral was among the most beautiful that Minato had ever born witness to. Hundreds of thousands of paper cranes bore Nagato aloft high over the village he’d done so much to protect. The setting sun shone red against the clouds, highlighting a break in the usual rain. Together, as one person, Jiraiya and Yahiko cast their jutsu. Jiraiya’s fire style combined with Yahiko’s wind in the most powerful fireball Minato had ever seen. The whole sky was aflame and not even ashes fell to the earth. There was a long moment of silence. Then, with the tears of the people, the rain began to fall. 

Minato and Naruto stayed for a little while, to keep Jiraiya company and listen to stories about Nagato in his youth. He sounded like a sweet boy, protective of his found family, who had suffered more than most. It was regrettable that he’d lost his way so profoundly, but Minato was hardly in a position to judge. Still, it was clear that Hidden Rain would be in much better hands with Yahiko. 

“I just don’t understand why you resorted to so much force,” he said quietly, half to Konan, half to the drink in his hand. 

“You were dead and your dream was being destroyed. It seemed like pacifism had failed us completely. We never liked the killing, but it became easier, knowing we were doing it to achieve your dream.” 

“My dream could never have been achieved that way. That goal he was working toward wasn’t my goal.” 

“I know. I think deep down, he knew it, too. He was just in so much pain. We both were. We both loved you so much.” 

“It can’t happen again, Konan. That was always our goal, to end the cycle. Promise me.” 

“I promise, Yahiko. If you die, there will be no vengeance. No more killing. Not ever again.” 

It was strange that her sober, serious promise seemed more romantic than her blushing over the engagement, but Yahiko seemed to find it so as well. He pulled the unflappable woman to his chest and kissed her for so long that Minato felt compelled to look away. They would do well together. As a leader, Yahiko would be just what Hidden Rain and the remnants of the Akatsuki needed. As a man, he was clearly exactly what Konan wanted. They would be happy, and they didn’t need anything more from Minato or Naruto. The Fourth Hokage slipped away quietly with his son. 

“Kakashi is going to be so mad at you,” Naruto teased just before they teleported back to the house. “I mean, not only did you take on the most powerful members of the Akatsuki, you ditched him for over a day without letting him know where you were going.” 

Rolling his eyes, Minato pulled his son along with his signature technique, transporting both of them through time and space back to their front door. “Kakashi has to know you were with me, and that I wouldn’t do anything to endanger you.”

“Oh sure, nothing dangerous, not like bringing me into a battle with the leader of the Akatsuki, you know.” Naruto grinned. “Of course, I wasn’t really in danger, was I? I was with you.”

They slipped off their shoes together and entered the house. “We’re home!” Minato looked around the front hall. Something was off. Kakashi’s shoes were there, but he couldn’t sense a presence in the house. Of course there were a number of possible explanations. Kakashi could be wearing different shoes, or he might have left the house without them. He might be in the house but hiding his own presence in a misguided attempt to surprise them with something fun. Minato was only being paranoid when he signaled Naruto to arm himself. Sometimes not sensing an intruder was a greater sign of danger than knowing one was there. 

“Anyway, I didn’t bring you into the battle. You tagged along on my Flying Thunder God. Don’t think I won’t have words with Kakashi about that. When exactly did he teach you to do that?” 

Naruto got out a kunai obediently, but he didn’t seem to be taking Minato’s concerns seriously. He grinned and folded his arms behind his head, snickering. “Pretty impressive, right? We’ve been working on it in secret.”

Minato had his own kunai out and several markers around the house, but he still kept Naruto firmly behind him as they moved past the kitchen. “Oh? How far along are you? Is catching hold of someone in the middle of a transport your limit, or have you been creating your own markers?”

“Dad! Of course I can create my own markers. Kakashi-sensei insisted that we start out doing that.”

“Naturally, naturally,” Minato said evenly. Then he sprinted to the end of the hall and kicked in the door to the home office. The barrier jutsu on the door was nothing. He broke through it like paper and had two kunai flying straight and true at the head of the intruder before the man had time to realize that Minato was aware of his presence. Both knives passed through the orange mask as though it were nothing more than air. 

The intruder was wearing an orange mask with one eye.

The intruder was crouched on the floor over a grimacing, bleeding Kakashi. 

The intruder was strong enough to hurt Kakashi badly.

The intruder had one visible eye, and that eye was a Sharingan.

The intruder was the masked Uchiha. 

The intruder was the man who had murdered Kushina.


	64. Chapter 64

“Why do you always have to interfere,” the masked Uchiha growled, closing with Minato. It was impossible to tell what he would block and what he would allow to pass through his body like an inconsequential thought. Fighting him was a challenge, even with the foreknowledge Minato had of his style. Beyond that, Minato couldn’t use his bigger techniques in close quarters with an injured comrade. Even so, it took every ounce of his self-control not to try with all of his might to kill the bastard. 

Minato was better than that. He closed with the Uchiha, hand to hand, and tried to draw him away from the injured Copy Ninja. “Why do you insist on attacking my family?”

“I wasn’t going to kill him. I won’t kill him. Just let me have what I came for, and I’ll let him live.” 

“You mean my son?” Minato roared, passing through the man and blowing up a wall with his Rasengan Senbon Bomb. Landing in the garden, he whipped around just in time to defend against the spiked chain shooting straight for his heart. 

“No!” Uchiha and chain phased away harmlessly, and all ninety-nine of Minato’s carefully aimed shuriken thudded uselessly into the rubble and the wooden interior wall of the office. “The Rinnegan!” 

“The Rinnegan are gone,” Minato said, with more than a little satisfaction, as he closed in on his enemy and tried to draw him further away from the house. “We destroyed them.” 

“I know! This is your fault!” The Uchiha was on the defensive, insubstantial more often than not, barely managing to attack. Minato felt a strange sense of familiarity with the man’s techniques, but then, they had fought once before.

“Is it?” Minato kept his voice calm. “You killed my wife. You send others to attack my son. Now I find you in my home, attempting to kill my partner. Do I not have the right to defend myself?”

“You don’t understand. I’ll bring Kushina back. I was always going to bring Kushina back. I can still do it. I just have to awaken the Rinnegan myself. Then I can fix this hell. Then I can make the perfect world.” The Uchiha seemed just as reckless as Minato felt, and it wasn’t long before Minato found an opening on the man’s blind side, just as he was in the process of attacking. He would be solid for long enough to take a wind chakra sharpened kunai through his heart. If that didn’t kill him, it would at least slow him down a little for Minato’s next move. 

“No.” Kakashi was holding his gut wound in a way that made it clear he could not stand up straight, but the hand that caught Minato’s wrist was strong. He wasn’t even looking at Minato, just panting and staring at the Uchiha. Kakashi’s labored breathing was Minato’s only indication that time hadn’t stopped. The Uchiha was frozen, staring at the knife in Minato’s hand. Minato didn’t move either, looking for some clue in Kakashi’s face. Even Naruto, watching from the relative safety of the rubble near the house, didn’t move a muscle. “If you’re truly only here for your eye, you can have it back. Obito.” 

“Obito!” It was shocking how much of a surprise the revelation was, because of course the Uchiha was Obito. Minato knew his chakra, the familiar cadence of his fighting style, and the desperate tenor of his voice. He still couldn’t believe it, though. He couldn’t believe that the sweet little boy who spent all of his time helping the elderly and day dreaming about girls would be the cause of so much murder. 

“Deal,” Obito said quickly. “I am sorry about this, Kakashi. It isn’t right, to take back a present. I’ll find a way to wake the Rinnegan really quickly. You’ll have two eyes in the perfect world.” 

“What’s the perfect world?” Naruto asked, coming up to the trio curiously. If Obito was really the mastermind of the Akatsuki, Minato wanted to keep his son as far away from the man as possible, but he was suddenly so tired. 

“Madara Uchiha taught me a jutsu before he died,” Obito explained. “It’s the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The caster can use the Rinnegan and the power of the tailed beasts to summon a moon that reflects his genjutsu and creates a perfect world.”

“To bring back Rin,” Kakashi said. He sounded lost and completely defeated. His fingers on Minato’s wrist were light, barely a touch, certainly not a restraint. Breaking away from him to continue the fight would have been simple, but Minato didn’t feel much like fighting anymore. 

“Yes.”

“Obito, you should know that her death wasn’t Kakashi’s fault. Rin was captured by Mist shinobi and implanted with—“ 

“I know.” Obito’s voice was flat and much deeper than it had been during his desperate fight to hold Minato’s anger at bay. “She gave her life to save the village. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t even matter that you broke your promise to me, Kakashi. All that matters is that she isn’t here.” 

Kakashi didn’t seem able to look at Obito any longer. Minato didn’t know what to do. Obviously the plan was insane. Trap the whole world in a genjutsu? People couldn’t live out their lives inside of an illusion. As a concept, it was less violent than the mass destruction Nagato wanted, but it was still impossible. Even if it could work, it wouldn’t be real. It wouldn’t be what Rin would have wanted for her friends. Rin and Kushina wouldn’t really be there. 

“My dad used to feel that way,” Naruto said softly. “When he first came back he said that he and my mom loved each other so much that one of them got to be happy and the other one got to be alive. It’s hard, isn’t it? Being the one to survive.”

Obito didn’t say anything, but his head dipped forward in a slight nod. 

“I know what it’s like to want to fix something like that. When Orochimaru took Sasuke, I would have done anything to save him. I didn’t care what other people said; I would have fought the Hokage herself if it meant saving him.” 

“That’s what it means, to have a bond with someone,” Obito said. “I’ll destroy this whole world, if it means I can save Rin.” 

“I should have protected her,” Kakashi said. “I was too slow, too weak, and I failed. I know I’m worthless garbage, Obito, but you were a hero of the Leaf. I can’t believe you would destroy the world.” 

“Not for an illusion of her,” Minato said. Obito looked at him sharply. “The genjutsu would be yours, wouldn’t it? So in the end, all you’re really fighting for is your desire to live inside of a dream, rejecting the world. You need it to be grandiose so that you can ignore that basic fact. The long dead can’t be brought back to life.” 

“They can with the Rinnegan. That was always the point of Madara giving his eyes to Nagato instead of to me. He needed a sacrificial piece to bring him back to life. Then we would create the perfect world.” 

“You weren’t going to resurrect Rin?” Kakashi asked. Obito stared at him. 

“Maybe you preferred the idea of an illusion,” Minato said. “Because you knew the real Rin would never approve of what you were doing.” 

“That isn’t true. It isn’t. I was. I was going to bring her back. I was going to make the perfect world.” 

Naruto reached up and gently took Obito’s mask in both of his hands, removing it. He was so close to the Uchiha that Obito could have done anything before Minato had time to intervene. Obito didn’t move, though, just stood there, staring down at the boy with one good eye in the scarred half of his face. It was easy to see why he always wore a mask, but it was also easy to see the little boy that Obito had been in the man who had become his enemy. 

“I’m sorry,” Naruto said, “that you’ve been alone. But you don’t have to be anymore. You can stay with us, you know!” 

Obito’s jaw dropped and both of his eyes opened wide, revealing the empty socket in the unscarred half of his face. “I killed your mother.” 

“I know.” Naruto’s little face was solemn and serious. “But according to Nagato you were the one who gave me back my father. According to Kakashi you’re a hero of the Leaf. And you seem to know my dad and everything, so you might as well stay with us.” Naruto smiled his bright, simple smile. “Dad can keep you out of trouble the way Kakashi keeps him out of trouble!” 

Minato was surprised into a laugh. “Maybe not exactly the same way.” 

“Ew. Dad, don’t be gross.” 

“You can’t be serious. You can’t really want me to stay.”

“In Leaf,” Kakashi said softly, “Even if you don’t want to stay with us. You should come home to Leaf Village. You, more than anyone, deserve that.” 

“I stabbed you in the gut not ten minutes ago!” Obito was breathing hard, but Minato wasn’t worried that he would attack. At heart he was a gentle boy. Minato didn’t think he could attack his former teammates without the mask and the distance it gave him. 

“I forgive you,” Kakashi said, quiet and serious. 

Obito broke. Tears streamed down his cheeks as they had so many times in the past. “I forgive you, too.” Minato caught the young man gently by the shoulders, offering his support while Obito wept. 

“It won’t be quite as simple as Naruto says,” he warned. “You’ll have to pay. For attacking the village, and for what happened with Kushina.” 

“I know. I should. I’m so sorry, Sensei. I just, I thought Madara was going to help me make it right. I thought we could fix everything.” 

“You can’t fix a problem by hiding it.” 

“I know. I’m sorry.” 

Minato took a deep breath. He looked at his son, remembering that day in the forest when he’d come so close to murdering a little girl simply for annoying his boy. A shinobi walked a knife’s edge with life and death constantly on the line. A man had to be allowed to make amends. 

“Well then,” he said, “I forgive you.”


	65. Chapter 65

They see each other at the cemetery sometimes. Kakashi usually lets Minato go alone, though he has his own respects to pay. “Your wife might not object to you bringing the other woman by,” Minato’s former student would joke, “but it could be a little awkward for me.” The truth is, Naruto and Kakashi both have missions and training that takes them away from the village for weeks on end while Minato’s duties as a diplomatic advisor to the Hokage tend to keep him in Leaf. So every few days he goes to the cemetery, but he’s almost never there alone. 

“How are things in the Uchiha compound?” he asked gently. 

Obito looked up, wiping the tears from his cheeks, and blinked at Minato. It was still a little strange to see a mismatched glass eye in the unblemished half of the young man’s face, but Obito had been adamant about not wanting his own eye back. He seemed to be afraid that if he did manage to awaken the Rinnegan, Madara’s spirit would come back from the dead and force him to comply with that insane plan to summon a second moon. 

“A little awkward, honestly,” he said, with a ghost of a smile. “When Sasuke’s away it’s just Itachi, and he’s so quiet. I start missing her, you know? The way she would brighten up a room just by being there.” 

“I do know.” Minato looked down at Rin’s grave. “She was a gentle girl, but she had a spark of caring well suited to a medic. She always wanted to make people happy. I was convinced that half of her crush on Kakashi came from the fact that he was always so reserved in those days.” 

Obito laughed a little. “So you think she would have been more interested in me if I’d been sulky and withdrawn?” 

“I don’t know. You were pretty sulky as it was.” 

“Yeah. You’re visiting your wife?”

Minato looked down at his bouquet of bright red poppies. “Yes. Peonies and pansies would be better suited to Rin, but,” he took one of the flowers and added it to the bouquet of roses already in the vase at the base of the girl’s grave, “You deserve to have a little fun in the afterlife, too, Rin. Look for Kushina, if you like, I’m sure she has a few good ways to get into trouble.” 

Obito smiled, another tear starting to well in his real eye. “Rin would never get into trouble, Sensei.” 

“No, she wouldn’t.”

“I’m not sure you can get into trouble in the afterlife. I don’t really know anything about it, though.” 

“Kushina will find a way.”

“You loved her very much. I see you here almost every time I come.”

“At first it was too hard, especially knowing that there was a part of her still sealed in Naruto. I couldn’t accept that this was where she really was.”

“Yeah.” A cool breeze ruffled Obito’s hair, making him look younger for a moment. 

“It’s better now. It’s good to have a specific place to come to remember her. It makes living the rest of my life out there a little easier.” 

“With Kakashi? I have to admit, that was a pretty big surprise for me. I never would have thought that the two of you would get together.” 

“No?”

“He’s just so different from Kushina-sensei.”

“After all these years, you still haven’t learned to appreciate Kakashi’s qualities?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“He’s brave, loyal to a fault, and he would die for Naruto in a heartbeat,” Minato said slowly. “He has a great deal in common with my wife.” 

“That’s not,” Obito looked down. “I wasn’t trying to criticize Kakashi, Sensei. I just. Shizune has been pushing me to get a transplant for my eye. Not another Sharingan, just a normal eye. I would have one of each, like Kakashi’s. It would eliminate my blind spot.”

“Oh.” Minato looked down at the grave of a little girl who had been dead for longer than she ever lived. A cool wind blew through the cemetery, but the sun was high in the sky and warm enough for early spring. “It can be hard to let go of a blind spot like that.”

“Yeah.” Obito looked down at his roses and watched the wind take one of the petals, spinning it through the air in a small dervish and lofting it away, out of the graveyard and into the surrounding trees. “You know I never had the courage to give her flowers while she was alive.” 

“You were young. You don’t have that excuse anymore.” Obito whipped his head around to look at Minato, who tried to soften his words with a smile. “You served your time, Obito, but you’re still hiding away. You don’t go on missions, you don’t spend time with anyone but Kakashi and your fellow Uchiha, and you don’t seem to live your life. Would Rin want that?”

“No.”

“Come to diner tonight. Bring Itachi, too. I worry about the two of you when you don’t have Sasuke to mother.”

“I don’t mother Sasuke, that’s all Itachi.”

“Oh yes. I distinctly remember Itachi standing at the village gate, insisting that Sasuke take a cloak on this mission.”

“It gets cold in the Land of Iron. That isn’t mothering.”

“I’m glad. That you were able to rejoin your family.”

Obito looked down at the grave again. “It helps that Itachi met Black Zetsu and knows Madara was real. Still, I wouldn’t have expected Sasuke to be so forgiving.” 

“He’s had some practice of late.” 

“So. Dinner tonight?”

Minato nodded.

“And Shizune will be there for some contrived reason?”

“Not contrived. I work very closely with the Hokage’s disciple. We have a lot to talk about. If I should happen to invite her to dinner while my family is out of town, that would be a perfectly natural expression of our congenial working relationship.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready. How did you know? With Kakashi, I mean.”

Minato closed his eyes and tilted his chin up, feeling the warmth of the sun on his face. “He hugged me. I’m always so cold, these days, but when he’s around, even more so than Naruto or Jiraiya, I feel warm. When I’m with him, things are better. It isn’t complicated. It isn’t easy, either. He had a hard life without us, and it made him more protective than he needs to be, but even when he’s cold I know it comes from a place of warmth.” 

A long minute passed before Obito said anything. When he did speak, his voice was soft and hesitant. “Shizune is so practical. She’s nothing like Rin, really. She doesn’t go along with my flights of fancy. When I’m with her, though, I just feel—grounded. Safe, if that makes sense.” 

“Then there’s no harm in spending time with her. Whether it’s true love or a friend trying to help you adjust to your new circumstances, I think spending time with her is a step in the right direction.” 

“Maybe. Thanks, Sensei. And thank you for the dinner invitation. Itachi and I will be there.” 

Minato watched his former student go, leaping away over the cemetery wall and vanishing into the leaves beyond just as the rose petal had. Smiling softly, he strolled along the path between the gravestones until he found his wife. Then he knelt before her and meticulously arranged the flowers he’d brought. Once he was sure that he was absolutely alone, he stood.

“You would have killed him, I know, if you were here and I were there. I’m sure you don’t mind about Kakashi, or the fact that I’ll never serve as Hokage again, but I can’t imagine you forgive me for letting him live.” Minato watched the cool wind catching the large petals of the poppies, shuffling the flowers around in the vase. After a moment, he continued.

“You might be right. I know I would have fewer nightmares if he weren’t living in the same village as Naruto, an ever-present threat. Maybe I would have killed him, before I lost you, but I understand him too well. I have to give him this chance at redemption. I hope you can forgive me.” 

The wind whipping through Minato’s hair picked up even more. A cold gust blew something out from underneath a stone beside Kushina’s grave. Reflexively, Minato caught it. It was a photograph taken by Jiraiya of Naruto, Kakashi, and Minato posing in front of the monument. Minato hadn’t wanted to take the picture at the time, so his own smile would have been forced, but Naruto had made a joke about his own face being up among those statues one day. The picture showed Minato laughing at his son while the boy grinned unrepentantly up at his father. Kakashi was smiling benevolently at them both from the center of the shot, one arm slung loosely around each of them. 

He hadn’t realized there were copies of the picture, other than the one that was proudly displayed on the mantelpiece of their home. Naruto must have brought this one here when visiting his mother. Minato looked at the photograph more closely. His little family looked so happy. They were so happy, every day. Minato knew in his heart that that was all Kushina would ever really care about. Closing his eyes against a tear, he felt the warmth building in his chest. After carefully replacing the photograph under the stone Minato turned, leaving the grave behind, and went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it, the end of Minato's long journey toward living a life after Kushina's death. Thank you so much for coming along. I very nearly abandoned this once Orochimaru used Edo Tensei in the manga to bring back the past Hokage, because the sheer mass of things I got wrong about Minato and his techniques was a little overwhelming. Still, I hope you enjoyed this story anyway. Thanks again, for reading to the end!


End file.
